Mandaue re-launches housing project for informal settlers

The Mandaue City government is set to re-launch a housing program dubbed as Program on Renewed Organization for Township Housing and Entrepreneurial Development Initiatives.

Frank Guillena, officer-in-charge of the Housing and Urban Development Office of the city said the city has identified three housing sites in barangays Paknaan, Canduman and Casili, wherein over a thousand families are expected to be the beneficiaries of this housing sites.

At present, there are 17,000 informal settlers living in danger zones or living within the city's road right of way.

Guillena said the city government is still scouting for more housing sites for the construction of more houses for the informal settlers.

To recall the city government enrolled 15 urban poor associations in the Community Mortgage Program of the National Home Mortgage and Finance Corporation. This is one of the ways to narrow down to the barest minimum the number of homeless families in the city.

The city is now preparing the documentation of another batch of 20 urban poor homeowners associations to be enrolled with the CMP.

To date, the city government is catering to the housing needs of about 2,000 households. The city government has also recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Gawad Kalinga Development Foundation for the construction of 200 housing units in one of the city's CMP sites.

Also the 11.8 hectare land within the Eversly Child Sanitarium is due for turnover to the city government through a presidential proclamation, which will undergo the process of site upgrading and stands to benefit about 1,000 informal households in the city. - Mitchelle P. Calipayan