THE City Government of San Fernando is in the thick of preparations for the relocation of informal settlers, including 1,200 families from 14 barangays in this Pampanga capital which will be affected by the North-South Commuter Railway Extension (NSCR-EX) project of the Department of Transportation.
On Friday, November 26, 2021, the Local Inter-Agency Committee created sub-committees on relocation, resettlement and dismantling; social preparations; beneficiary selection, awards and arbitration; livelihood committee; and environment as it stepped up preparations for the relocation of the families affected by the ongoing railway project.
Local Housing and Settlement Division chief Louie P. Clemente said that the directive to put order in the relocation of the informal settlers came from Mayor Edwin Santiago.
“The sub-committees were created to make the relocation faster, systematic and humane because it is the directive of Mayor Edwin Santiago that before he steps down, the informal settlers must be relocated in a proper and liveable place,” he said.
Clemented added that relocatees will be brought to the proposed relocation sites in Barangays Panipuan, San Felipe, and Calulut.
NSCR-EX, known as the Philippine National Railways Clark Phase 2, will build the country’s first airport railway express service to cut travel time from key cities to Clark International Airport to just 55 minutes. (JTD)