• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Seven out of 27 families given a notice to vacate in Purok Balinday, Barangay 2, Bacolod City, have been disqualified from receiving relocation assistance.
Bacolod City Mayor Greg Gasataya confirmed the disqualification, stating that the seven families were disqualified because they built their houses in the area only recently.
Barangay 2 Chief Imelda Banguanga disclosed that some of the families did not meet the requirement of being a resident in the area for a minimum of six years to qualify for relocation.
Banguanga said 27 families in Purok Balinday are currently listed for relocation, and some of those approved are now awaiting certification from the National Housing Authority.
Eighteen houses qualified while the two were already awardees for the relocation lot.
Banguanga clarified the compliance gaps, noting that some registrants had only been residents for three years.
She added that one family had the child processing the application instead of the parent who was on the original list, and another family was no longer residing in the area.
Gasataya indicated that it would not be long before the structures in Purok Balinday are completely removed from the creek area.
A Notice to Vacate was issued by the City Legal Office to 80 houses in the identified danger zone in the creek of Barangay 2.
The 27 households were prioritized as they were built directly on the creek.*
