Friday, June 20, 2008 PAF builds 229 houses for soldiers
THE Philippine Air Force (PAF) has already started the construction of the 229 apartment houses for soldiers at Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Base (MBEAB)as ordered by President Arroyo last year.
Malacañang gave P25 million for the project when Arroyo visited Cebu last August. The amount was part of the P50-million military housing project.
The project in Mactan is reportedly in preparation for the move to revert 80 hectares of Camp Lapu-Lapu to Cebu Provincial Capitol. Camp Lapu-Lapu is located partly in Barangays Lahug, Apas and Banilad in Cebu City.
Brig. Gen. Butch Lacson, commander of the 560th Air Base Wing, said that the housing project at MBEAB is exclusive for Air Force soldiers, and could raise the soldiers’ take home pay.
He said that while a soldier in active military service has P800 monthly housing allowance, this is not enough if they are living outside the camp because the room rate is P3,000 while the rental for an entire house is P5,000.
Lacson said that once the soldiers and their families will transfer to the new housing site, their take home pay will increase because the water is free considering that MBEAB has its own water system.
He said the electricity rate inside the camp is also lower than the rate charged by Mactan Electric Company.
The soldiers who are living inside the camp will not spend part of their salaries for fares. If their children are still in the elementary grades, they can enroll them at MBEAB’ which is just inside the camp.
Security
“Their families are really safe because they are included in the camp’s 24-hour security service”, Lacson said.
Lacson said this is also the reason why several retired soldiers who are illegally occupying the 15-hectare old housing area of MBEAB refused to vacate the place.
Of the 126 houses, 55 are still occupied by retired soldiers, their relatives and even boarders. They are now facing a case for eviction before the sala of Judge Wilson Ibones of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities. (EOB
