The construction commences last November 21, 2011 in Paknaan 6.5 ha Relocation Site with the LTHAI community construction workers under the supervision of Engr. Noel Zeta and Carlo Bongcac both from Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives Inc. (PACSII). Mandaue City government provided land filing material to a portion of the area where construction materials can be loaded. Furthermore, dump trucks from different barangays were also used in hauling Interlocking Compressed Earth Block from LTHAI’s ICEB production site.
This 6.5 hectare land area would be the relocation site for 1200 household living along Mahiga Creek in Mandaue City subject for demolition and some communities living in a private land who are under eviction threats.
New CLIFF community
SMASH members are currently living near the exit point of Mahiga Creek (at the back of SM Hypermarket in Subangdaku, Mandaue City. They have been identified for this project because of their savings initiative. They became a member of Homeless People Federation Philippines Inc. (HPFPI) through the federation’s savings program in the year 2008 and as of September 2011 the community has 28 savings groups (including children’s group) which has a total savings of approximately Seven Hundred Thousand Pesos (P700, 000.00).
This new community initiative from SMASH is also the newest Community-Led Infrastructure Finance Facility (CLIFF) Housing project supported in Mandaue City following the construction of first batch of twenty (20) row house units at MM Village Homeowners Association Inc. (MMVHAI) both under the supervision of Philippine Alliance’ HPFPI, PACSII and TAMPEI.