BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Lone District Cong. Greg Gasataya and Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez disclosed several firsts for the city over the weekend.
Saturday morning, 3 September 2022, Benitez signed a memorandum of agreement, in behalf of the local government, with Secretary Jose Rizalino Azucar representing the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) for the building of 10,000 units for informal settlers families.
Also on the same day, Lone District Cong. Greg Gasataya said, on the sidelines of the signing, that the groundbreaking for the P600 million Bacolod City General Hospital will be on Friday, 9 September 2022,
Gasataya said the groundbreaking, which will start the two-year construction, will gather national and local officials in the eastern village of Vista Alegre on the property of the Gensoli family that donated it for the facility.
Among the first
The housing project here, called the Yuhum Village here, is among the first batch under the Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program under the administration of Marcos Jr.
Azucar added that funds from State shelter financer Pagtutulungan sa Kinabukasan, Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya at Gobyerno (PAG-IBIG) will be used to pump prime this program.
Benitez meanwhile said City Hall will help the recipients to be registered as PAG-IBIG members.
The Mayor added that the budget he might ask from the the national government for each unit may range from P800,000 to P1 million.
Around 40,000 ISFs are targeted for the program.
A recipient can avail of a 24.5-square meter design that can house four persons.
The basic unit comes with a toilet bowl, shower, a kitchen counter with sink and a tiled floor.
The actual unit will be made up of solid modular concrete which is 6-inches thick and is sound and earthquake-proof.
An environmental scanning according to Benitez is being done to cater the needs of these informal settlers and to make sure that this proposed housing units also considers the financial capability of its recipients.
This is the first multi-storey housing on-site project.
Benitez also said they might start the construction this October.
