The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has released PHP25 million (US$525,000) to the local government of Tapaz in the Western Visayas to fund construction of an evacuation center.
For decades, the farming municipality of Tapaz had no permanent facility to accommodate thousands of indigenous families from its upland communities, who are always forced to flee their homes during heavy rains or strong typhoons due to the dangers of soil erosion.
The facility broke ground on March 5, 2021 in Barangay Carida.
With a budget of P50 million, the two-storey MPEC to be constructed in the town has provision for kitchen area, storage areas for relief goods, toilet and shower rooms for male and female, lactating rooms for nursing mothers, and a spacious badminton-court type area that may be used for sports events and other purposes when it is not being used as an evacuation site.
