Concepcion, Iloilo – Survivors of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Concepcion, Iloilo will be recipients of homes to be built by mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc.

“This is another blessing,” expressed 48-year-old widower Leonora Lardera during the August 9 groundbreaking ceremony for the SM Cares Housing Project here.

Ladera’s 52-year-old husband Rogelio was a teacher and a member of the local rescue group who lost his life while trying to save others when Yolanda made its fifth landfall in Concepcion, Northern Iloilo in November last year.

Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. lauded the housing project in Bacjawan Sur village as another example of the private sector initiating the rebuilding of Iloilo and the Visayas after Yolanda.

SM Cares, a division of corporate social responsibility arm SM Foundation Inc., will construct housing units for 200 family-beneficiaries.

The 200 housing units will be built within a one-hectare lot donated by the family of Ruth Tirol-Jarantilla.

According to SM Prime President Hans Sy, SM will go beyond constructing houses for Yolanda survivors.

“We want to build a community,” Sy said.

“We want to make sure it is sustainable and we do not want the people to feel like they are social outcasts,” Sy assured.

He added that SM is working with its affiliates to implement a livelihood program as well as addressing educational needs for disadvantaged people.

Present during the August 9 groundbreaking ceremony were Iloilo Vice Governor Raul Tupas, Iloilo Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, Concepcion Mayor Milliard Villanueva, Concepcion Vice Mayor Elizabeth Salcedo, SM Prime Vice President Marissa Fernan, SM Foundation Inc. Senior Vice President Carmen Linda Atayde, SM Cares Consultant Elena Bautista-Horn, and SM City-Iloilo Manager Girlie Liboon.

The housing units in Iloilo are part of the over P260-million budget of SM Cares for Yolanda survivors in the Visayas.

SM Cares is also constructing houses for Yolanda survivors in the cities of Tacloban and Ormoc in Leyte province as well as in Bogo City, Cebu.