Mayor to re-allot P50B for tenement housing

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte announced her plan to re-allocate a P50 million budget for tenement housing for informal settlers here.

Duterte said Monday she has decided to re-allocate the P50 million budget originally allotted for a city crematorium to fund medium-rise buildings for tenement housing of informal settlers and poor families set to begin within her term.

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City Planning and Development Coordinating Office (CPDO) acting head Roberto Alabado III said in an interview during the First National Convention of Housing Developers at the Grand Men Seng Hotel last week, that the City Government will partner with the National Housing Authority and the private land owners near the urban center to realize this plan.

Duterte admitted Alabado's announcement "was not planned" but said the matter have already been discussed during the early weeks of her term in crafting the executive agenda.

"We were discussing na instead of making houses para sa mga patay, we will use the P50 million to make tenements para sa mga buhi (for the living). We are planning to use that money since on hold ang crematorium and columbarium project. During the executive agenda na-istoryahan na to (we have discussed that) gi-announce lang niya during the housing summit," Duterte said in a press conference.

Duterte said they are yet to discuss the clauses for said tenement housing but said they would base it on existing laws as tenement housing have been implemented in Marikina as in other Asian countries.

"We're still discussing what kind of informal settler can avail the tenement housing but definitely we're coming up with one sample project. We can copy how other projects were implemented. Sa Manila naa na, Hong Kong, ingana ilahang style. These are good templates sa atong plano (for our plans)," Duterte said.

Duterte said the city has wide areas of relocation sites in Lasang, Tibungco, and Los Amigos.

Alabado said an estimated 20 percent of Dabawenyos are informal settlers. Davao City has an estimated 1.5 million population.

In 2009, Alabado said the CPDO identified 372 houses built by informal settlers in government and private properties, danger zones, pathways and open canals.

Alabado said housing will continue to be a challenge for the local government as more people seek employment and opportunities in urban areas such as the city, considers as the urban city in Mindanao.

"The traditional way of providing houses is not effective anymore. The traditional way is the government select the beneficiaries and then the beneficiaries pay. But less than 50 percent of the beneficiaries are able to pay then the government cannot keep up with the project, making housing a big burden," Alabado said.

"What we are thinking is why not make the beneficiaries rent it, but rent it at very low rates. We're thinking na hindi na rin sa malayo and tatayuan ng apartment style building na ito but within the city na mismo so we won't be taking from them their job opportunities," Alabado said.

Duterte earlier clarified that a city-owned crematorium will not be among the City Government's priorities this year.

"Before we say there is a lack of space: one, there should be an inventory of all the cemeteries of the city; two, there should be an assessment of the burial capacity of these properties; three, if there is a need; four, assessment on whether a burial space or a crematorium is appropriate by studying the data of deaths in the past (five to ten years) and the preference how they were buried, (specifically) if the percentage (preferring) the mode of cremation is high; five, the cost benefit analysis beside that percentage, how much investment should be allotted to a crematorium, giving importance in its ability to service the loan and become profitable for the city in the future," she said.

Duterte said she will not approve the project if no thorough studies on the cemeteries in the city will be made. (Jade C. Zaldivar)