Housing plan recipients agree on design

CEBU, Philippines – Beneficiaries of the 6.5-hectare relocation area in Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City yesterday agreed to adopt a common design for their houses to be financed under a soft loan program by the Social Housing Finance Corporation.

Various homeowners' associations came up with their proposed design but after a thorough deliberation, they instead approved the old design adopted by the pioneering families in the relocation area.

The design is a two-story with a balcony and an attic sitting in a 28-square meter lot and made of bricks called Interlocking Compressed Earth Block  manufactured by the federated homeowners' association.

Each unit costs some P90,000 with labor costs to be shouldered by the beneficiaries in a form of "bayanihan."

Leopoldo Chavez, president of the 6.5-hectare management committee, said the proposed designs presented during the one-day workshop held at the Hall of Fame seemed complicated and costly.

Housing, Urban Development Office head Tony Pet Juanico in his opening remarks emphasized a significant improvement of the site development with the arrival of a P13 million brand new back hoe purchased by the city government for this project.

Randy Librando, director of SHFC-Visayas, also announced that they are offering a housing materials loan in the amount of P170,000 for each family-beneficiary and another P80,000 land acquisition loan or a total of P250,000 payable in 25 years.

He said to avail of the loan, each of the homeowner is required to have an efficient loan payment of 80 percent starting last month.

The 6.5-hectare lot was acquired under the Community Mortgage Program of SHFC in the amount of P131 million wherein SHFC paid the landowner and, in return, the homeowner pays SHFC in installment for a maximum of 25 years.

Clemen Quiros of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, for her part, said with the full support of the city government, there will be no more "squatters" in our own land.