DSWD shelter program up for city informal settlers

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) office in Western Visayas is prioritizing 378 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as awardees of the P100-million shelter program.

DSWD Regional Director Minda Brigoli said a multipartite memorandum of agreement was drawn up recently between DSWD, the City Government of Iloilo, National Housing Authority (NHA), Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (Icupao) and associations of homeless families in selecting 1,428 family beneficiaries in the city’s 5.6 hectares lot in Lanit, Jaro district.

Brigoli said an initial fund of P50 million is ready to start the housing project in partnership of the NHA as part of the disaster risk reduction management program. Each housing unit will cost about P125,000 per unit.

The Icupao has identified informal settlers living along the Iloilo and Batiano rivers, creeks and other danger zones in the city who need to be relocated to a safer area.

The DSWD housing project for more than 10,000 informal settlers was in partnership with Senator Franklin Drilon. The said project will be known as the Iloilo River Plains Subdivision Phase II.

Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said the other housing project is spearheaded by the NHA for another batch of 1,000 raw housing units costing P170 million.

The said project was bid and won by contractor JD Legaspi Construction.

The contractor also promised to donate 138 housing units for free that will be constructed at the Sooc, Arevalo relocation site.

NHA will have to download P123 million to the City Government for easy access to the housing funds, as it was found out to be difficult to turn over the money to NHA due to late approval for releases by the NHA Board.

Mabilog said there are more than 10,000 informal settlers living along the dangers zones and P440 million is being earmarked for houses of the initial batch of 4,000 informal settlers. (Lydia C. Pendon)