THE top official of La Castellana has expressed optimism that the move of the municipal government to turnover the land, through conditional sale, to residents of Barangay Cabacungan will spur economic growth in the area.
Mayor Rhumyla Nicor-Mangilimutan, who lead the Ceremonial Turnover of Titles to Municipal Lot Occupants and Signing of Contracts at the Barangay Cabacungan covered court in the southern Negros Occidental town recently, said about 10 hectares worth about P100 million are being sold to some 700 households.
The area forms part of the 14-hectare property in the barangay owned by the municipal government.
The other four hectares host public places, including a church and school.
The cost per square of residential lot is P840, while that in the commercial area is P1,140.
With a downpayment of 10 percent of the total cost of the land, the residents will pay the remaining balance in 15 years without interest.
The amount per household will depend on the area or size of the lot where their houses are built.
Nicor-Mangilimutan said the initiative, which took them about eight years to realize, will translate to economic benefits for the residents of the entire barangay.
"Those in the commercial area, for instance, they can do business there. If they own the lot, they can utilize it in starting their income-generating ventures," she said, adding that by owning the property, residents will now have to pay taxes that can be used for various development projects.
These taxes will now be part of the local government income that will be given back to the residents through different services, the mayor said.
"The initial payment collected from resident-occupants worth almost P5 million were already supplemented to fund for various projects like water connections at the barangay and Covid-19 related efforts of the local government," she said.
During the ceremonial turnover, Nicor-Mangilimutan reminded residents that the measure to dispose of the government-owned lot to the residents is covered by an ordinance.
The local government has the right to expropriate houses if owners fail to pay, the mayor said.
"They will be given two notices. After which, the local government may eject them or resell the property to other residents or those willing to purchase the lot," she added.
There are currently nine households that have fully paid their lots while most of the occupants already paid the 10 percent downpayment.