Three municipalities in the province of Cagayan became the latest beneficiaries of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (PAGCOR’s) Multi-Purpose Evacuation Center (MPEC) project after the state-run gaming agency inaugurated the newly constructed facilities on March 10 and 11, 2023.
The PAGCOR-funded basketball-court type multi-purpose facilities worth P12.7 million each were formally unveiled in the towns of Amulong, Solana and Peñablanca.
In the municipality of Solana, the evacuation facility built in the flood-prone Barangay Malalam-Malacabibi, was already used as a temporary shelter last October 2022 after the gates of Magat dam were opened to release water, following the onslaught of Tropical Storm Paeng.
According to Solana Municipal Mayor Jennalyn Carag, despite being partially completed, the PAGCOR-funded evacuation facility already provided safe refuge to 80 families from low-lying communities in their town. “Noong sinalanta po tayo ng Tropical Storm Paeng, tumaas ang level ng tubig sa Magat Dam. May mga barangay sa bayan natin ang na-isolate, kagaya ng Barangay Dasun, Bauan at Malalam-Malacabibi. Kahit noong ginagawa pa lang itong evacuation center, malaking tulong na ang naibigay nito sa amin,” she shared.
In the town of Peñablanca, PAGCOR’s evacuation facility was built in the remote barangay of Minanga, which is almost two hours away from the town center and has no access to telecommunication. The community’s mountainous location and partly unpaved roads, make it challenging for the local government to deliver swift aid to locals whenever they are affected by natural disasters.
“Nitong mga nakaraang taon, nasubok tayo ng iba’t ibang kalamidad tulad na lamang ng malawakang pagbaha dito sa probinsiya ng Cagayan noong 2020. Nasundan ito ng isa pang malawakang pagbaha noong 2021 at noong 2022, naramdaman natin ang lakas ng yanig ng lindol na tumama sa Ilocos region,” Peñablanca Mayor Washington Taguinod shared.
“Naging priority natin ang pagtayo nitong PAGCOR evacuation center sa Barangay Minanga dahil sa layo nito sa población. This is a non-telco area, which means mahirap para sa mga residente na humingi ng agarang tulong kapag may kalamidad,” Taguinod added.
With the completion of the PAGCOR-funded evacuation center in the far-flung Barangay Minanga, Taguinod said that the locals – including the indigenous peoples living at the foot of Sierra Madre – will be assured of a safe shelter as well as a venue where the local government can download relief goods and other basic government services in times of disasters.
(right) When not used as an evacuation facility, the basketball-type evacuation facility funded by PAGCOR in Amulong, Cagayan will serve as a recreation or livelihood venue for locals.
Meanwhile, Amulong Municipal Mayor Elpidio Rendon also expressed his gratitude to PAGCOR for giving the vulnerable sectors of their community a secure evacuation shelter during calamities. “In Amulong, we have identified typhoons, landslides, drought and flood as major hazards. The flood alone affects 17 of the 47 barangays. This situation pushes us to raise the adaptive capabilities of our communities that are exposed to flooding. This evacuation center will be of great help to the vulnerable members of our community – such as the elderly, children and pregnant women – especially during the onslaught of natural disasters,” he said.
PAGCOR’s Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Ramon Stephen Villaflor, who graced the inauguration of the evacuation facilities in Cagayan explained that instead of constructing a two-storey building, the state-run gaming firm provided funding for four basketball-court type multi-purpose facilities in towns that are most vulnerable to flooding.
Besides Amulong, Solana and Peñablanca, the town of Iguig also received a basketball-court type evacuation facility. Final inspection of the project in Iguig was already conducted.
Meanwhile, apart from the province of Cagayan, PAGCOR also recently inaugurated two-storey multi-purpose evacuation centers worth P50 million each in the towns of Floridablanca and Candaba in Pampanga. Over 200,000 residents from said municipalities stand to benefit from the modern and spacious buildings.
To date, a total of 24 MPECs have been completely built and inaugurated nationwide while 53 are still undergoing construction.
