MANDAUE City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing is set to meet this week with the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Home Mutual Development Fund, better known as Pag-ibig, to take up a socialized housing project for poor constituents and City Hall employees.
Quisumbing said he receive a call from the Office of the President about the upcoming projects.
“And not just a socialized housing project but several housing projects. One specifically for indigents and the other one is possibly for employees of the Mandaue City Government. So, we are going to be meeting with representatives from NHA and Pag-ibig to figure out how we can implement it,” the mayor said.
He was not yet told how much the budget would be or how many families or City Hall employees would benefit from the projects. The mayor was also not told whether or not the units would be distributed for free, although government housing projects typically require a monthly amortization of P3,500 or less, he said.
Among the details officials will thresh out in the meeting will be the location of the projects, number of housing units that will be built, and criteria for the selection of beneficiaries.
“We’re talking about several hundreds, at the very least, of housing units. Now, when it comes to the beneficiaries, who will be beneficiaries, it will be a standard practice that the requirements for availment will be set by an ordinance,” Quisumbing said.
Last Monday, the mayor received a call about the projects from the Office of the President. He recalled that when he attended the inauguration of the new international terminal in Mactan airport last June 7, several national government officials hinted to him about some big-ticket projects that would be implemented in Mandaue.
“We are very thankful to the President and, of course, to Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, who informed Mandaue City of the project that is to be implemented. Let me just say it is a significant housing project,” the mayor said.
Mandaue City’s population reached 362,654 as of August 2015, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. This reflected an increase of 31,334 persons from its population in 2010 and an increase of 102,926 from 2000. (JPP of Superbalita Cebu)