Mid-rise housing set for turnover to informal settlers

CEBU, Philippines —  A medium-rise building built by a private company on a Cebu City government-owned lot is expected to be turned over this summer to serve as a relocation site for some demolished housing structures here.

To recall, the Cebu City Government and the Cebu Land Masters Inc. signed a memorandum of agreement regarding this MRB donation for informal settlers.

The city government owns the 1,350-square meter lot while the CLMI built the structure.

The five-story MRB is expected to have a total of 100 units.

City Councilor Jerry Guardo, chairman of the committee on infrastructure, together with the City’s Local Housing Board, CLMI, officials from Barangay Lorega, Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, and Department Human Settlements and Urban Development made an ocular inspection yesterday.

“Mga end of March or pinaka-latest April, mao nay ilang timeline for the turn-over,” Guardo told The Freeman.

With that, Guardo said, they are now finalizing the guidelines as to who can avail of this tenement housing project.

“As early as now, nag-ready na tas mga guidelines kung kinsa gyuy mga beneficiaries. Daghan man so we have to identify priority,” added Guardo.

Top of the city’s priority to avail the units at the nearly-completed MRB in Lorega are the affected structure owners living within the three-meter easement here.

“Maglisod man gud mig implement aning mga flood control projects if we cannot offer relocation sites. With this, makita na nila na nindot kaayo ilang kabalhinan, well, tan-aw nako basin mag-ilog na ni sa ilang kabalhinan kaysa sa ilang balay dapit sa sapa,” said Guardo.

However, only affected residents that did not receive the P35,000 financial assistance from the city government will be able to avail of these units.

“Only those who opted to avail of the relocation site so kana sila qualified na sila and then katong nidawat og financial they are no longer entitled for a relocation site, dili man pwede duha,” said Guardo.

Guardo said the MRB from the CLMI will also serve as a model structure as relocation sites and even socialized housing in the city as against those row house buildings.

“Wa na koy nakita na problema ani in the future sa flood control projects if ing-ani ilang balhinan…wa na nyay problema nga layo, walay kuryente, wala pay site development project. I also had submitted my recommendation sa Local Board sa Housing nga maski katong mga socialized housing, MRB na,” said Guardo. — Decemay P. Padilla, GMR (FREEMAN)