The Quezon City government is set to purchase a 34-hectare property in Montalban, Rizal which will be developed as a socialized housing community for QC informal settlers occupying danger zones and other hazard-prone areas.
On behalf of the QC government, Mayor Herbert Bautista signed a contract to sell agreement with representatives of the Arce family, who owned the land, at the QC Hall Bulwagan on May 12 on the occasion of the Mayor’s 43rd birthday celebration.
“This will be QC’s first step towards the attainment of providing genuine resettlement areas for the city’s underprivileged residents,” said the Mayor.
The 26-member council has already given the Mayor the green light to enter into a contract with the Arce family in a resolution authorizing the Mayor to negotiate for the purchase and acquisition of the property, which is valued at P550 per square meter.
According to the Mayor, around 5,100 home lots – each with an area of 40 square meters — will be generated with the development of the city’s new housing project in Montalban.
To date, there is a continuing effort by the Q C government to adopt a meaningful housing development plan to provide more livable communities for QC residents, especially informal settlers living in danger areas such as sidewalks, roadways, waterways, under transmission lines and on water pipelines.
Mayor Bautista has created the city’s socialized housing task force, headed by secretary to the mayor Tadeo Palma, to address the problem of urban settlements in QC.
“The problem of poverty and informal settlements in Quezon City is huge. But, we can help make this challenge manageable through the pathways of collaboration and partnerships,” the Mayor said.
According to the QC urban poor affairs office, headed by Ramon Asprer, there are about 10,731 informal settler families living in identified danger areas in QC.
Aside from the signing of the contract to sell agreement, the Mayor also led the awarding of land titles and tax declarations to beneficiaries of the various socialized housing projects of the city, be it under the community mortgage program or direct sale scheme.
Awarded during the occasion were 24 land titles and 249 tax declarations.
Of the total land titles, 13 were awarded to beneficiaries of the city’s housing project at Tawid Sapa Phase I and II.
Meanwhile, the tax declarations that were released will be distributed to members of the Country Homes 1.1 Homeowners Association, Inc. at Barangay Bagong Silangan and the Kasamakaba Homeowners Assocation, Inc. at FFF Extension, Sitio Mabilog in Barangay Culiat. -30- Precy/ Ramir/ Maureen Quinones, PAISO
