PPA donates land for Isla Puting Bato residents to be displaced by Manila Bay rehab

Over 2,000 urban poor families of Isla Puting Bato which will displaced by the ongoing Manila Bay rehabilitation are now assured of permanent housing after the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) agreed to give five hectares of land in Tondo, Manila for them.

Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday led the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the PPA, National Housing Authority (NHA), the City Government of Manila headed by Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, the International Container Terminal Services, and the Manila North Harbour Port Inc. for the donation of the piece of land.

Arroyo, Estrada, NHA, PPA execs sign Memorandum of Understanding to grant 5 hectares of land to over 2,000 urban poor families in Isla Puting Bato which will be displaced by Manila Bay rehab. pic.twitter.com/oQKjHEoCNH

— Erwin Colcol (@erwincolcol) February 26, 2019

The development was a result of an earlier meeting of the House Oversight Committee on Housing to address the delay in the release of titles to the beneficiaries of urban poor housing proclamations issued during Arroyo's presidency.

During the meeting, it was revealed that more than 2,000 families residing in a property owned by the PPA in Isla Puting Bato will be displaced due to the Manila Bay rehabilitation.

"We're dealing with something that's been pending for a long time. So ngayon, malilinis na ang Manila Bay, magkakaroon din ng katiyakan sa lupang tinitirikan. [It's a] win-win situation," Arroyo told reporters in an ambush interview.

House panel chair Alfredo Benitez, in a separate interview, said that 37 low-rise to mid-rise buildings that will produce about 2,200 housing units will be built in the donated piece of land.

The PPA will also seed P1 billion as initial fund for the development of the housing units, he added.

"Kinukuha muna natin yung lupa. Siguraduhin na muna natin yung lupa malipat sa NHA. Kapag nalipat na sa NHA, papasok na tayo doon kasama ang ating people's plan sa execution," Benitez said.

Benitez said residents will only pay a low monthly amortization fee for the housing units, depending on which floor they are on.

"Yung mga lower floors, dahil walang elevator, mas mahal. Yung mga nasa higher floors, mas mura dahil naglalakad tayo sa hagdanan," he explained.

"Ang current pricing na kino-kolekta ng NHA sa mga low-rise buildings, nasa P600 at P1,000 ang pinakamahal, monthly cost," he added.

Benitez wanted to ensure that the intended residents would benefit from the housing program.

"Ginagawa natin ito para makamura at hindi ganun kamahal ang pass-on price natin sa ating mga kababayan, at sinisigurado natin na hindi nila ibebenta," he said.

"Ginawa nila ito para sa kanila. They are the intended beneficiaries and sila mismo ang dapat makinabang," he added. —LDF, GMA News