‘Billions of pesos’ discovered missing from ‘substandard’ Yolanda housing project

A contractor from the National Housing Authority (NHA) is facing estafa and plunder for allegedly misusing billions of pesos intended for the construction of homes for victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda”, lawmakers at the House of Representatives said on Wednesday.

In an ocular inspection of the housing site in Leyte on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, one of the hard-hit provinces of what has been considered as the strongest typhoon to hit land, Rep. Alfredo Benitez of the Third District of Negros Occidental, chairman of the housing and urban development committee, and other members were appalled by what they saw of the project that was entrusted to JC Tayag, the main contractor of the NHA in Eastern Samar and Leyte.