Ormoc City – SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPH) broke ground for a housing project on a two-hectare land donated by Mayor Edward C. Codilla in Sitio Catmon, Brgy. Concepcion here. Marissa Fernan, SVP of SMPH, led the groundbreaking ceremony last March 18.

The project is undertaken by SM Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of SMPH.

To be constructed are 200 units costing P250,000 each, the most expensive housing project for typhoon Yolanda victims. This is because the concrete houses will be disaster-resilient to withstand 250-km. winds and a magnitude 7 earthquake.

SM Cares will spend P50 million for the construction of the houses alone. Each single-story house has a size of 20 sqm including a three-sqm open area at the back which will also serve as a kitchen. Its high floor-ceiling ratio makes it loft-ready. Duty Free Philippines Cares contributed P6.6 million, good enough to build 12 units.

Total cost of the project is P300 million to include site development that will feature a half-hectare football field, community center, main road and secondary roads measuring six and five meters wide, respectively, to be funded by donations from employees, contractors and tenants of SMPH.

The mayor’s wife, Engr. Violeta Codilla, thanked SM Cares for the project.

“I would like to extend my profound gratitude to the SM Foundation and to the family of Mr. Hans Sy. This is a great contribution to our city,” she said. She also asked her husband to concretize the road leading to the site.

In response, Mayor Codilla addressed City Engineer Ranulfo Oliveros and told him not to forget the road project.

The idea of the project started when Ms. Fernan narrated SMPH’s housing projects in Cebu and Tacloban to Atty. Christina Frasco, the mayor’s niece, when they shared a plane ride.

Atty. Frasco became interested in putting a similar project in Ormoc and hooked up SM Cares with her uncle who is known for his philanthropy. Early this year, Mayor Codilla allowed the use of another 50-hectare land owned by his family for a housing project for 2,000 families.

Priority beneficiaries of SM Cares Village will be families who are forced to live in danger zones because of typhoon Yolanda. They will be required to demolish their old structures to ensure they won’t return and will be made to take part of a livelihood project of “Answering the Cry of the Poor,” a Catholic non-profit organization.

Considering that the units will be equipped with modern amenities like flushing toilets and aluminum sliding windows, the residents will be trained on how to take care of their new homes.

Ms. Fernan hopes they can also get scholars from among the beneficiaries’ children. SM Cares has over 1,000 scholars, 120 of them from Tacloban City.

Ms. Fernan also stressed that the residents will not own the homes; rather, they will just be allowed to occupy the units for 25 years subject for renewal to prevent them from selling their rights or renting out the homes. The project is targeted to be finished in September.