Escudero vows onsite resettlement for informal settlers in NCR

Vice-presidential candidate Senator Francis Escudero on Thursday promised he will push onsite resettlement of informal settlers in the National Capital Region, if he becomes the next vice president of the Philippines.

In an interview with Mike Enriquez over dzBB radio, Escudero said houses could be built in areas occupied by informal settlers  in Metro Manila because the government owns 70 percent of the estimated 3,000 hectares of the occupied land.

To maximize space, four-story condominiums could be built for informal settlers in these areas.

“Kung doon din ititirik ang kanilang tahanan – 'yung four-story [condominium] –eh, hindi divided by four 'yung footprint sa lupa. Malilibre 'yung three-fourths [na space],” the senator said.

Onsite relocation may be costly but Escudero believes the government can afford the project if it wants to get the job done.

He said the government has some P700 billion in public funds from savings since 2011 due to underspending.

“Hindi kuwestyon ang pondo. Sabi nga nila, kapag gusto may paraan, kapag ayaw maraming dahilan. Nandiyan ang pera, and governance is all about allocating scarce resources.”

To encourage people to go back to the provinces, Escudero said the government must invest heavily in agriculture since around 70 percent of the poorest Filipinos are from farming sector.

He noted that for 2016, the government is poised to spend P391 billion for the construction of highways and bridges while only P7 billion has been allocated for building farm to market roads.

"Sa 28,000 kilometers ng farm to market roads, P10 million kada kilometro aabutin tayo at P7 billion a year ng 40 taon bago magawa lahat 'yan samantalang kung nagawa lang sana ng gobyerno 'yan, tataas ng pito hanggang walong porsyento ang kita ng ating mga magsasaka," he said.

Escudero said raising the income of workers in the agriculture sector will give them the means and motivation to live in the countryside instead of moving to Metro Manila for jobs. — LBG, GMA News