Cong. Edgar Chatto is supporting housing solutions worked out by the Local
Government Unit (LGU) of Tubigon for island barangay residents affected by sea level
rise.
Chatto met with Acting Mayor Acting Mayor Rene Villaber, National Housing Authority
(NHA) Bohol Head Genesis Caesar Manalili and program coordinator Joseph Lagorra
on July 6, 2023.
In the meeting, Villaber updated Chatto on an upcoming appointment of LGU Tubigon
Mayor William Jao with the Social Housing Financing Corporation (SHFC) for the
proposed 2-story housing facility for 322 beneficiaries in an LGU-owned lot in Brgy.
Hinonocan.
Earlier, Chatto had facilitated a meeting with the House Committee on Housing and
Urban Development chair Cong. Kiko Benitez, Department of Human Settlements and
Urban Development (DHSUD) Usec. Avelino Tolentino, NHA Bohol’s Manalili, LGU
Tubigon and former Usec. Pat Ruiz National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) on
funding requirements for the project which had an allocation of over P4Million through
SHFC.
Benitez saw the meeting as an important step for housing agencies on how to best
respond to diverse local issues of resettlement, addressing in particular rising sea levels
and disaster resilience in the case of Tubigon.
Chatto as climate change chair sought the support of the Benitez’s committee and
housing authorities to provide concrete and clear solutions for the affected families.
The LGU is also working on a new project with the NHA on a 4-hectare property in Brgy.
Talenceras for a different set of beneficiaries from island barangays, funding for which
the LGU is seeking Chatto’s support.
Tubigon island barangays were part of the Bohol Climate Emergency Response
Roadmap for Small Islands which Chatto as Climate Change Committee chair partnered
on with Greenpeace Philippines and Rice Watch Action Network.