Manileños laud move to buy private lot for housing program

MANILA – Residents in Manila on Thursday took to social media their appreciation for the Manila City government’s move to acquire a 6,003-square meter private lot for the city’s socialized housing program.

“Yung kahit may pandemic, may mga pondo pa din sa ganyan, ang galing po talaga! Sana lahat ganyan (Even in the middle of the pandemic, there’s are funds for projects like this, that’s awesome),” posted Red Satchel ByTina Almenanza on the Facebook page of Manila Mayor Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso.

On Wednesday, Domagoso signed the deed of sale for the purchase of a parcel of land worth PHP111 million located in Pasig Line in Sta. Ana to be used for the “Land for the Landless” program of the Manila Urban Settlements Office (MUSO), the local government agency that provides assistance to landless, bonafide poor, low-income informal settlers and homeless families in the city.

For this specific area, Domagoso said about 600 families will benefit from the socialized housing project.

“We will not stop until we have safe and decent communities that every Manileño will be proud of. Ito ay tupad laway para sa mga Batang Maynila (This is keeping our promise to our residents in Manila),” Domagoso said.

Domagoso said the city government was able to acquire the said parcel of private property through Ordinance No. 8115 that was enacted in 2006.

He added that this is in line with the city’s goal to uplift the living condition of Manileños and provide them livable spaces.

Meanwhile, several Manila residents have already expressed interest to become among the beneficiaries of the project.

“Nais ko po magkaroon ng sariling bahay, matagal na po ako nangungupahan (I want to have my own house especially because we have been renting for years),” said Bukay Dato in a post.

Growing up in an informal settler site in Tondo, Domagoso said it has been his dream to be able to provide decent housing for poor families.

However, some netizens also expressed fear that the project might be taken advantage of.

“Wag lang sanang pasukin ng mga sindikatong professional squatters. Kukuha ng ilang units with several dummy names tapos ibebenta. Ganyan ang nangyayari lalo na sa pabahay ng NHA sa Pandi. (I hope this will not be infiltrated. They will get several units with several dummy names and then they will sell, just like what is happening in the NHA [National Housing Authority] project in Pandi),” said netizen Jaime Salazar.

Currently, the city government of Manila is building several housing projects in the nation’s capital that includes Tondominium 1 and 2 and Binondominium 1 and 2.