• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod approved on third and final yesterday the “Homelot Ordinance of Bacolod City, Providing the Policies and Guidelines for all Homelot Relocation and Resettlement Projects of the City, Revising Certain Provisions of City Ordinance No. 269.”
The ordinance authored by Councilor Vladimir Gonzalez and co-authored by all the councilors of Bacolod City will be known as the “Homelot Ordinance of Bacolod City.”
The ordinance will govern the policies and guidelines with regards to the awarding and cost recovery schemes and measures at Phase 1 (MRRP) and Phase 2 (MSSP), Phase 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B in Brgy. Handumanan, the Fortune Town Resettlement project in Brgy. Estefania, the Progreso Village Relocation Site 1 (previously Abada-Escay), and Progreso Village 2 (previously Arao) in Brgy. Vista Alegre. It may, however, be applied to all socialized housing or homelot relocation and resettlement projects of Bacolod City, which are similarly situated.
It said that until today, there are no policies and guidelines that govern the disposition and allocation of residential lots, for original and non-original awardees, actual occupants, sharers, vacant lots, institutional, commercial, and other lots at the city relocation and resettlement sites, specifically the mode of disposition and the corresponding terms and conditions, homelot price, amortization, cost recovery schemes, sanctions for violations, and other policies and regulations.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) has given the City of Bacolod more than P42 million financial assistance for its resettlement projects, with the condition that the cost be recovered through sale of the lots and its proceeds be used for additional resettlement projects, the ordinance said.
In the light of the city’s plan to expand its housing project and to help fund and effectively and efficiently manage the socialized housing relocation and resettlement program of the city, there is an urgent need for the promulgation of policies and guidelines, and the same police and guidelines should also cover the relocation and resettlement sites at Progreso Village and in all other similarly situated projects of Bacolod City, it said.
Under C.O. 269, Rule VI, Cost Recovery, Section 1, “BHA shall include in each project cost study the suggested cost recovery scheme detailing the various schemes available to the beneficiary for the acquisition of his/her awarded lot for approval of the Sangguniang Panlungsod,” and that such recovery measures are necessary for the recovery of the P42 million fund granted by the NHA to the city on the condition that the recovered fund shall be used for additional resettlement projects of the city, the ordinance said.
Under Section 2 of the same rule, “all original awardee in Phase 1 (MRRP) Brgy. Handumanan, as certified by the Bacolod Housing Authority (BHA), shall have the option to purchase their lots at a price of P5.40 per square meter within one year from effectivity of this Ordinance,” while “all original awardees of Phase 2 (MSSP), as certified by the BHA, shall have the option to purchase their lots at a price of P57.96 per square meter within two years from effectivity of this ordinance” and that non-compliance with the same periods shall mean forfeiture of the said privileges. They may, however, acquire ownership of the lots occupied by them based on the terms and conditions to be formulated for non-original awardees of Phase 1 (MRRP) and Phase 2 (MSSP), it said.*