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NHA, Richard Gomez in word war over 'substandard' housing

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ABS-CBN News

<p><br/>MANILA - The National Housing Authority on Tuesday cried foul over Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez&#x27;s insinuation that some of its employees accepted bribes from contractors responsible for allegedly substandard housing projects for earthquake victims. </p><p>A post shared by Gomez on his Facebook page showed the mayor inspecting a housing project for survivors of last year&#x27;s <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/06/17/magnitude-65-quake-hits-leyte">magnitude 6.5 tremor</a>. </p><div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.urboda/posts/10216612681486039" data-width="auto"> </div><p>One video showed the mayor saying that building materials used for the project were substandard, with soil being mixed with sand and cement. </p><p>&quot;Maglagay ka ng buto d&#x27;yan, tutubo iyung buto d&#x27;yan e,&quot; he said, touching what appeared to be traces of mud on the floor of a house. </p><p>&quot;Tingnan mo o. Putik na kaagad. Hindi siya purong buhangin...Kahit kaninong bobo mo ipakita &#x27;to, maiintindihan,&quot; he added. </p><p>(Plant a seed there and it will grow. Look, this is already muddy. It is not pure sand. Show this to any fool and even they would understand.) </p><p>Speaking to what appeared to be a group of contractors, the mayor also said: &quot;Kung tama, bakit ganito? Unless kayo, kung sinong binibigyan n&#x27;yo at kailangan ganito ka-mura [ang materyales].&quot; </p><p>&quot;Alam naman namin mga paraan n&#x27;yo d&#x27;yan. Imposible namang hindi kayo nagbibigay rito. Imposible namang hindi tumatanggap itong mga &#x27;to,&quot; he alleged. </p><p>(If it was done right, why is it like this? Unless perhaps you&#x27;re giving money to someone so the materials need to be cheap. We know your ways. It&#x27;s impossible that you&#x27;re not giving off bribes, it&#x27;s impossible that you&#x27;re not pocketing these.) </p><p>In a statement, NHA general manager Marcelino Escalada maintained that the housing project has &quot;high quality&quot; units. </p><p>He challenged Gomez to cancel the project&#x27;s building permit if he deems it substandard instead of &quot;parading the issue on social media.&quot; </p><p>In a press conference, NHA chief of staff Atty. Christopher Mahamud said Gomez&#x27;s claims may be considered slanderous. </p><p>&quot;When you&#x27;re trying to imply that the person is receiving bribe, that is slanderous. When you&#x27;re trying to imply that the person is guilty of criminal action, that is slanderous,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;We have to protect the reputation of the Authority. You cannot just say that people in NHA are bobo, but when you needed the housing unit, you went to us.&quot; </p><p>The agency&#x27;s employees want Gomez to apologize and retract his allegations, said NHA-Eastern Visayas chief Engr. Rizalde Mediavillo. </p><p>The 2017 Ormoc quake damaged some 3,600 houses, injured hundreds of residents and left 2 dead, according to data from the national disaster office. </p><div><br/><strong>Report from Zhander Cayabyab, ABS-CBN News </strong></div><div><br/> </div>

<p>The National Housing Authority on Tuesday cried foul over Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez's insinuation that some of its employees accepted bribes from contractors responsible for allegedly substandard housing projects for earthquake victims. </p>

The National Housing Authority on Tuesday cried foul over Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez's insinuation that some of its employees accepted bribes from contractors responsible for allegedly substandard housing projects for earthquake victims.