Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday handed over more than half a million pesos in financial assistance, on top of food packs to 110 informal settler-families that were recently evicted from Purok Herbabuena in Barangay Villamonte.
Recipient-families received P5,000 cash aid each from the mayor, while the Department of Social Services and Development of the local government gave out relief packs in ceremonies held at the Bacolod City Government Center lobby.
Leonardia was joined by the Barangay Villamonte Council headed by Barangay Captain Rommel Flores.
“This assistance would not have been possible without the help of the Sangguniang Panlungsod and the city executives led by Mayor Leonardia,” Flores said.
“Barangay Villamonte should heal as one and that the council, together with our mayor, will stand beside us,” he added.
Councilor Renecito Novero, chairman of the SP Committee on Urban Poor and Relocation, also thanked the DSSD and assured the families that no matter how difficult the situation is, Villamonte will always remain as one united barangay.
“We don’t always get what we want in life. We must face the challenges that will come along the way. Let us be thankful that we have a leader with a heart to serve,” Novero said, apparently referring to Leonardia.
He also reminded the families to get vaccinated and not to believe in misleading and fake news against the vaccine and COVID-19.
Leonardia renewed his assurance to Herbabuena residents that, no matter what, they can expect fair and equal treatment from the city government, the Bacolod Housing Authority and the DSSD regarding their status.
The mayor added that the LGU, under his watch, will work hard to provide more housing opportunities and expand the city’s relocation sites to accommodate more displaced families.
BIGGEST IN THE COUNTRY
One of the flagship programs of the Leonardia administration is the relocation and on-site housing development considered as one of the biggest — if not the biggest in the country today — with a total land area of more than 188 hectares, BHA head and concurrent acting Secretary to the Mayor Ma. Victoria Parreñas, said.
Both Progreso Villages 1 and 2, in Abada Escay and Arao, in Barangay Vista Alegre, have a total land area of 89 hectares. Parrenas said, adding that they have been subdivided with more than 6,000 residential lots.
The Handumanan Relocation Site, on the hand, is about 93 hectares with more than 6,500 family-beneficiaries, while the resettlement area in Fortune Towne, Barangay Estefania, the smallest of the four, is only 6 hectares, she added.
A major move to further develop Progreso Village in 2019, the LGU allocated about P350 million to build roads, bridges, streetlights, drainage system, and other facilities, Leonardia said.
Parreñas explained that Progresso Village was established by the Leonardia administration in 1996 to give informal settlers a home to call their own.
LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES
“We are very thankful for the program of the city that we were able to avail a lot in Progresso Village,” Noela Mendrez, first kagawad of Purok Herbabuena, said.
“Ever since before, the administration of Mayor Bing doesn’t choose who to help. If there is someone who needs something from the city, he is always ready to help,” she said.
Mendrez added that they decided to relocate at Progresso Village because of the livelihood opportunities and the amenities provided by the LGU.*
