The ground was shaken. The trees fell, and houses and establishments were torn apart, creating smoke from the ashes. People were so afraid that they couldn’t talk but screamed the loudest instead.

This is how Raulito Osing, 61, a resident of Barangay Luayon, Makilala, described the infamous October 2019 series of earthquakes that hit their place.

Raulito, a farmer, said the calamity heavily affected the lives of residents. He said the earthquake did not only damage their houses, but worse, their source of living vanished.

According to him, the affected families find it hard to rebuild their houses in the area or even manage their farms because the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology have identified their residences as “no build zones.”

For almost four years now, Raulito’s family and other families affected by the earthquake have taken temporary shelter in different barangays.

“Gabalik-balik pa man kami sa among balay kay naa pa man kami mga butang didto. Ginatukuran lang nako para dili matumba,” he said.

(We go back to our home from time to time because we still have some of our belongings there.)

In Purok Flortam, in the village of Batasan, Raulito and close to a hundred families content themselves in makeshift tents, not strong enough to withstand a heavy downpour during rainy days and not comfortable enough to ease the soaring of the sun during sunny days.

At present, Raulito’s family manages a small store inside their makeshift tent. The income, he said, is not enough to meet their daily needs, so he accepts electronic repairs to augment his earnings.

Raulito is thankful that help from government agencies, local government units, non-government organizations, religious groups, and even private individuals poured in, giving them enough supplies during the hard days.

Despite the struggle, Raulito manages to smile, believing that the time will come when all of these will come to pass. True enough, his optimism paid off when the housing project for which they had waited long enough came.

The National Housing Authority (NHA) XII, through its program, Build Better and More, and with the help of local government units and stakeholders, is set to construct some 1,329 housing units for earthquake-affected families in Makilala.

During the groundbreaking ceremony held recently, Zenaida Cabiles, regional manager of NHA XII, said the housing units will be constructed in nine barangays, including Malasila, Sto. Niňo, Malabuan, Indangan, Buenavida, Buhay, Cabilao, Bato, and Luayon.

She added the housing project has a total cost of P597,456,766.60 from the Comprehensive Aid to Repair Earthquake Damages of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, with NHA as the fund manager and counterparts from the local government unit of Makilala, and the provincial government of Cotabato. The Office of the 2nd Congressional District of Cotabato also played a vital role in the implementation of the housing project.

Cabiles also explained that due to issues in land acquisition, the procurement process, and the economic crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, the implementation of the project was delayed.

But with this resolved, Raulito cannot help but express his happiness for this "good news" and his gratitude to all those who made this possible.

“Panalingin man ni kay dili man ni amo ang effort kundi effort sa palibot, sa gobyerno aron matagaan mig maayong kapuy-an,” Raulito says, adding that at last, they can soon spend Christmas in a humble abode much safer and more comfortable.

(This is an answered prayer because this is not our effort but the effort of the people around us and the effort of the government to give us decent homes.)

Meanwhile, when asked about his realizations about his experience, Raulito, with a humble smile, said, “Duna may medyo pag abusar sa nature, part sa nahitabo kay kung wala pud na-damage ang nature, dili pud dako ang damage sa tao. Ang nature pud unta makadepensa sa tao.”

(There was really an abuse of nature. If nature were not that damaged, maybe the effect on people would not be this big because nature can defend them.)

The housing project is expected to be completed in February 2025.

Meanwhile, Joeben Tai, general manager of NHA, emphasized that earthquake-affected families will soon have decent, comfortable, and safe houses. He also assured other target beneficiaries that NHA is steadfast in its mandate of ensuring that calamity victims and other qualified individuals will benefit from NHA’s housing program.

“Sa mga benepisyaryo po ng National Housing Authority under the administration po ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr., gagawa po tayo ng mas maraming pabahay under the Build Better and More program. So, hinihiling ko po na kung isa kayo sa maswerteng mapipili na mabigyan ng pabahay, alagaan niyo po ito, mahalin ninyo,” he said.

(To the beneficiaries of the National Housing Authority under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., we will build more houses through the Build Better and More program. I am asking all the beneficiaries of the housing project to love and take good care of what's given to them.)