MANKAYAN, Benguet – The State-owned Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) approved the proposed construction of a P50 million evacuation center in a 2,000-square meter property of the municipal government in sitio Bayoyo, barangay Tabio to add to the disaster risk reduction and management facilities to cater for victims of natural and man-made calamities.
The selection of Mankayan as one of the sites for the put up of the proposed evacuation center was made possible through the representation of Benguet caretaker congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Eric Yap.
Mayor Frenzel A. Ayong disclosed that PAGCOR will initially release 50% of the fund, P25 million, to jumpstart the implementation of the project that will have its soft launching on January 6, 2022.
He pointed out that this evacuation center in the municipality will definitely boost the municipal government’s capacity in disaster risk reduction and management response in times of calamities, particularly providing decent temporary shelter for people affected by the calamities.
PAGCOR is funding the construction of evacuation and multipurpose centers in the different parts of the country to strengthen the disaster risk reduction and management response of local governments.
Mayor Ayong expressed his gratitude to Congressman Yap for prioritizing Mankayan for sourcing the funds and PAGCOR for acceding to Yap’s request.
According to him, the facility site is within a property of the municipal government.
Mankayan is one of the 5 first-class municipalities in the province having agriculture and mining as the major sources of livelihood of the people. The 6 upland barangays are vegetable-producing communities while the 6 lowland barangays host to the operation of large-scale and small-scale mining activities.
Further, the municipality is also one of the three municipalities that rely on mining as a major source of revenue.
The construction of the P50 million evacuation and multipurpose center is one of the high-impact development projects to be implemented in the municipality with the funding assistance from PAGCOR. By HENT
