Hawaii lawmaker John Mizuno and his wife, May Besario Mizuno, are visiting the Philippines to assist in rebuilding efforts after natural disasters last autumn.

May Besario Mizuno is the president of the Congress of Visayan Organizations. That group of Hawaii organizations is contributing funds with the Philippines charity Gawad Kalinga to build 20 homes in two villages.

One will be on the island of Bohol, the site of a magnitude-7.2 earthquake in October. The other will be on Leyte, an island slammed by typhoon Haiyan in November.

John Mizuno, the vice speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives, said in a news release that the project is personal for him and his wife. They have relatives who survived the typhoon and are trying to rebuild their home.

Mizuno represents the 28th District, including Kalihi Valley and Kamehameha Heights.