Housing beneficiaries want titles

CEBU, Philippines - Close to 100 beneficiaries of the government’s Slum Improvement and Resettlement (SIR) project in Barangay Alaska-Mambaling and neighboring barangays trooped to City Hall yesterday to ask for Mayor Michael Rama’s help to stop the alleged illegal activities of some government personnel managing the project.

Ernesto Cardoza, who acted as the group’s spokesman, said they want the mayor to address their problems, particularly the failure of SIR personnel to process the documentation of the lots of those who already completely paid their amortization.

As Rama was in Bohol yesterday to preside the quarterly meeting of the Regional Development Council, they were entertained by Collin Rosell, head of the City Hall’s Division for the Welfare of Urban Poor.

Rosell had assured the concerned residents that he will look into their problem by setting another meeting with the SIR personnel under Merly Montellano to thresh out the matter.

The SIR is a national project first implemented in Cebu City during the time of former mayor Florentino Solon in the 1980’s aimed at providing decent homes to homeless urban poor families.

Cardoza said although many of them have already paid their amortizations, they still have not received documents proving their ownership of the lot that they are occupying.

But Cardoza also admitted many of the 5,000 families who are beneficiaries of the project have also failed to settle their obligation even after the 25-year contract had lapsed.

The city council allowed the SIR beneficiaries another ten years to pay, but still some of the concerned families cannot afford to pay the amortization because they do not have jobs.

Other concerns they wanted to bring to the mayor were the return the price of the lots to P150 from P200 per square meter and action against alleged corrupt practices of some SIR personnel.

The residents said a certain SIR employee asked for P15,000 for the resurvey of the lots occupied by the beneficiaries, but only P5,000 was reflected in the receipt.

“Ato nga tagdon ang inyong reklamo. Mag-set ko og laing meeting uban na sa mga personnel sa SIR office,” Rosell told the SIR beneficiaries who went to City Hall yesterday. (FREEMAN)