CEBU, Philippines - The National Housing Authority will be pouring in P24 million for the site development of a property bought by the Cebu City government in Barangay Sinsin intended for a relocation site.
Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor chief and lawyer Collin Rosell said that the NHA has initially approved and evaluated the area after it rejected the relocation site in Budlaan.
Rosell said that the P24-million loan offered by the NHA will be used to develop the road, drainage and prepare for the installation of utilities.
The P24 million is granted under the Regional Resettlement Program of the housing agency. Half of the said fund will be used as seed money while the remaining P12 million will be paid by the city government without interest. The period of which is yet to be determined.
Rosell said it is very affordable to the city government.
The area can accommodate some 300 to 350 homeless and underprivileged families.
It covers almost two hectares and was purchased during the time when the barangay experienced a landslide affecting many families.
Rosell said that when the site is developed, DWUP will have to prioritize the victims of the landslide in the barangay in 2008.
“We have to prioritize them because that lot was purchased for them,” he said.
Rosell said that this will be a first housing development for the urban poor in the mountain barangays.
“It is a good news for those who are living in danger areas in the mountain barangays. They can have a place to relocate,” Rosell said.
Once the area is developed, Rosell said they will not have a hard time convincing residents who were demolished in danger areas to relocate in the city’s relocation site.
Sinsin is a mountain barangay of Cebu City located at the boundary of Toledo City and its only means of transportation is habal-habal.
In the past, Rosell said, homeless residents would not accept the city’s offer for relocation because most of Cebu City’s relocation sites were considered “unlivable” due to lack of facilities.
The city government originally endorsed a relocation site in Budlaan for the Regional Resettlement Program but the site was rejected by the NHA due to a prior development already in place.
Currently, Rosell said, the NHA is waiting for the transfer of title of the lot to the city government and the submission of a topographic map so they can proceed with the release of the funds. — (FREEMAN)