The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has deployed personnel from its regional offices in Western Visayas (Region 6) and Cagayan Valley (Region 2) to help rebuild the houses damaged by Typhoon Odette in southern Negros Occidental.

As of Thursday, various teams are working with affected families in Sipalay City.

In a report, the TESDA-6 said its disaster operations team and the augmentation team from TESDA-2 “continue their task of providing disaster response and calamity support to the areas badly affected” by the typhoon.

Leading the TESDA-6 team is Assistant Regional Director Rick Abraham with TESDA-2 team leader Edwin Madarang.

In its initiative to help typhoon-affected regions, the TESDA has implemented a “buddy system” and paired Western Visayas with Cagayan Valley.

Abraham said they met with Barangay 4 village chief Gilda Garinga to identify the affected households with materials for repair and construction.

Three teams have been formed, of which two were assigned to work on totally damaged houses in Barangay 4 while the other team was tasked to assist the beach resort area.

In Purok Sambulawan, the team led by Porferio Celestial started constructing a new home for two families, who shared a home before the typhoon hit.

They also assisted in building a shelter for another in the same area.

The other team deployed in Purok Punta Ballo reconstructed the house of another identified family.

On Monday, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson led the distribution of housing materials, including six corrugated and two plain GI sheets, as well as food assistance to 2,368 beneficiaries in 17 barangays in Sipalay City.

The southern Negros city has recorded more than 11,000 partially damaged houses and more than 2,000 destroyed dwellings after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette last December 16. (PNA)