DAVAO CITY (March 7)— The National Housing Authority (NHA) recently released a total of P30 million grant for the construction of tribal villages for Mandaya and Dalayuhan tribes in Davao Oriental and Bukidnon respectively.
On May 2017, during the tribal leaders summit in Davao City, President Rodrigo Duterte promised to provide housing for the IP’s through the NHA to discourage them from joining the community movement.
Duterte even said, the government is willing to send IP children to school “wherever” they wished to study.
During the same forum, he tasked NHA manager Marcelino Escalada to coordinate with the IP leaders and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to work together and ensure the project will be realized.
The Tribal leaders were tasked to find an area for the establishment of the village, which will cater to IP’s who do not own houses and leaders will identify their beneficiaries.
Late last year, the Municipal Government of Caraga was able to comply all the requirements.
On January 7, 2019, the NHA Davao regional office turned over the check amounting to P10 million for the Mandaya Housing project which will be constructed in Barangay Pichon, Caraga, Davao Oriental.
Last week, the NHA regional office in Cagayan de Oro turned over P20 million check to the city government of Malaybalay
The tribal housing for Bukidnon is dedicated to those living at the foot of Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park (MKRNP).
In a PNA report, Bae Bede Blaise Omao-Maghilum, an official of the Daraghuyan Bukidnon Tribal Community said the beneficiaries are his members who live in a declared ancestral domain in Barangay Dalwangan.
The Bukidnon village will sit in a two-hectare property inside the Ancestral Domain area of Daraghuyan,” Maghilum said.
The city government of Malaybalay has already developed the access roads and the water utilities.
Escalada said the beneficiaries and their communities will help in the construction of housing units “We encouraged bayanihan” because they are stakeholders of their communities and they expressed their desire to participate in the construction.
Each tribal village will feature the heritage center of their tribe.
In Bukidnon, the tribal village will feature a “bangkasu” (high altar) and other cultural artifacts such as musical instruments, soil paintings, sculptures, handcrafted necklaces and bracelets, and abaca weavings.-Editha Z. Caduaya/NewsLine.ph
