New condo at old cemetery turnover of 21 units tomorrow

CEBU, Philippines - The city government will turn over 21 units of the condominium project at the old cemetery in Barangay Lorega-San Miguel to the first batch of beneficiaries tomorrow.

City Councilor Alvin Dizon, chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Housing, explained that only 21 units will be turned over at first because finishing touches are still being done on the 39 other units.

The 60-unit, three-story condominium is a joint project of the city government, the owner of the lot, and the Gawad Kalinga, the organization that spearheaded the construction through funds from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of Cebu City North District Rep. Rachel Del Mar.

It was the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that helped identify the beneficiaries of the project. The city will prioritize those who used to live in the area that were affected by the project.

The beneficiaries will be renting their units at a very affordable rate. For now, however, pending final decision on the rental amount from the Local Housing Board, beneficiaries will only be required to pay P300 to P500 “building maintenance fee” every month.

“Kining 21 ka pamilya nga makapuyo diha first batch pa ni kay duna pay pipila ka finishing touches sa ubang mga condo units,” Dizon said.

A site tour will be conducted at 1pm today during which Del Mar and Mayor Michael Rama, including officials of Gawad Kalinga and DSWD, will entertain questions from the media during a press conference.

The city has spent more than P500,000 for clearing operations and for labor, including the rental of the equipment and the cost of removing the cadavers and remains of tombs in the century-old cemetery.

Del Mar had donated P10 million from her PDAF while the Action for Nurturing Children and Environment (ANCE) also donated P2 million for the construction of the building. — (FREEMAN)