CEBU CITY – The city government here has partnered with a middle-market residential developer giant and a business group for the construction of 100 residential housing units aligned with the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program of the Marcos Administration.
Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said he is set to sign an agreement with SM Development Corp. (SMDC), SM Prime’s wholly-owned residential developer, and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) to put up the transitional housing units.
He said the units, to be constructed at Block 27 at the North Reclamation Area, will benefit residents who lost their homes due to the city’s Gubat sa Baha (war against floods).
The transitional housing program of the city is a prelude to the construction of the 4PH housing project for the homeless and victims of demolition and riverside clearing operations.
The transitional housing initiative came after Councilor Joel Garganera filed a resolution authorizing Garcia to enter into an agreement with SMDC and CCCI to construct the project.
The proposal was stalled for a while as the city has to identify the locations where the housing units would be constructed.
These 100 units would be given as donations by the SMDC and CCCI but the city will spend PhP 600 million to construct 1, 000 more transitional housing units.
“The City Council agreed to a compromise not to be hard on the donors. They will donate 100 units to be constructed in a lot owned by Cebu City,” he said.
Over the weekend, the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) endorsed a total of 348 individuals for the 4PH program in its proposed housing site in the mountain village of Pulangbato.
Lawyer Ronald Anthony Librando, DWUP head, said the listed beneficiaries still have to undergo the qualification process that the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development has set for them to qualify for the Marcos administration’s housing program. (PNA)