The Office of the Civil Defense-Central Visayas through the Department of Public Works and Highways 7 is set to establish two evacuation centers in the province of Bohol.

OCD-7 assistant director Engr. Neil Balaba said that a sum of P36 million has been allocated for the project.

The evacuation centers will be erected in Tagbilaran City and Ubay, Balaba said.

However, no definite timeline on the project’s completion has been disclosed yet.

According to Balaba, the facilities will each have a floor area of 3,000 square meters (sqm).

These will each fit around 36 families, he said.

Both structures will have material recovery facilities, restrooms, infirmary centers and storage rooms.

The evacuation centers will be useful during calamities such as storms which frequent the country during the wet season, said Balaba.

Currently, most of the facilities used for emergency evacuations in Bohol are multipurpose halls and covered courts.

The last wide scale evacuation in Bohol was carried out in Clarin last April after a gunfight between Abu Sayyaf bandits and government troops broke out.

Around 1,000 residents were evacuated during the incident but were allowed to return home just a few days after, as the extremists were quickly neutralized by government security forces. (R. Tutas)