By Jovee Marie de la Cruz - September 27, 2017

Leaders of the House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the national government to terminate all contracts it signed with JC Tayag, who won the bidding for the Yolanda housing project, after the committee’s recent inspection validated that substandard materials were used in the construction of housing units in Eastern Samar for victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda.

With this, House Committee on Housing and Urban Development Chairman Alfredo B. Benitez of Negros Occidental, said perjury, syndicated estafa and plunder cases may be filed against JC Tayag, while officials of the National Housing Authority (NHA) may be held liable for the delayed implementation of the projects.

For his part, Rep. Ben P. Evardone of Eastern Samar, chairman of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries, said all housing units with substandard materials must be demolished following the panel’s discovery.

“We need to remove and replace these substandard housing units for the people’s safety,” Evardone said.

During the September 18 hearing of the housing committee, an official of JC Tayag Builders Inc. denied accusations by subcontractor Camilo Salazar that he used substandard steel and bars for the construction of 2,000 housing units for Yolanda victims in Balangiga, Hernani and Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

Salazar alleged that JC Tayag used 8-millimeter steel rods in the construction instead of the required specification of 10 millimeters.

However, after JC Tayag’s denial, Benitez’s committee decided to conduct a site inspection in Eastern Samar  to verify the materials used.

Benitez said his panel’s inspection team uncovered that the size of the reinforcing steel bars averaged at 8 millimeters, while it also discovered that JC Tayag also used undersized bars of 12 millimeters, which is below the required 16 millimeters.

“With this evidence that we’ve uncovered, we will expand our investigation to other housing projects of Yolanda, not just in Eastern Samar,” Benitez said.

Benitez added he already asked the House Committee on Good Government to conduct a joint  hearing with his panel to further investigate the issue.

The government has earmarked P75 billion for the implementation of housing and resettlement program for Yolanda victims.

Four years after Supertyphoon Yolanda devastated communities in Eastern Visayas, Benitez said only 23,414 of the projected 205,128 housing units under the government’s resettlement program for the typhoon victims are being occupied.

He added substandard construction of Yolanda housing projects is the main reason the occupancy rate is low.

“Among the issues in resettlement areas for Yolanda victims [that the committee has identified] include: size of housing is inadequate, structure is substandard quality, lack of livelihood opportunities in resettlement sites, lack of potable water supply in resettlement sites and lack of power line in the area,” Benitez said.

Citing the NHA report in February 2017, Benitez said that out of the projected 205,128 housing units under the government’s resettlement program for the victims of Yolanda, only 67,754 units, or 37 percent, were actually constructed, with 23,414 units, or 11 percent, being occupied.

Meanwhile, Benitez added 74,286 units are currently under construction.

Evardone, who filed a resolution to investigate the slow implementation of Yolanda housing projects, said years after Yolanda, the people have anxiously observed the snail-paced implementation of the resettlement projects for the victims, as well as those living in danger zones.

“Procurement policies, land acquisition issues, and the many permits and clearances needed to start certain projects have been cited as among the primary reasons that slowed down the implementation of the resettlement projects,”  Evardone added.