BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A P700-million socialized housing project is soon to rise in Brgy. 3 poblacion, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.
Mayor Raymund Tongson led the groundbreaking rites of the socialized housing project which is to be developed and funded by the Himamaylan City government.
Following the groundbreaking rites, Tongson said they will start constructing the road network and drainage, while the housing units will cost P500,000 each.
Interested parties may avail of the housing units through PAG-IBIG, or any government and private financing institutions, which will pay the city government, he added.
Then, we will do another phase, if the city government already has the income, the mayor said.
Tongson said they are targeting to construct 1,000 housing units.
However, he said they will initially start constructing 200 housing units, to observe the outcome of its market.
Residents of Himamaylan City will be given priority by the city government to avail of the socialized housing project.
Tongson said that the initial funding of the project will be taken from the P280 million loan of the city government from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
The mayor also said that he is coordinating with Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III for the construction of a four to five-hectare housing project, to be implemented by DAR in Himamaylan City.
Tongson also reported that the construction of a super health center is now ongoing in the northern part of Himamaylan City, also funded by the Department of Health.
He explained that the super health center is an elevated level of a regular health center, which can suffice the operation of a City Health Unit.
The City Health Unit of Himamaylan City is presently located in the center of the city.
By next year, DOH has confirmed the construction of another super health center in the southern portion of Himamaylan City. After that, we will go up to the far flung areas, Tongson said.*
