BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod Councilor Vladimir Gonzalez said the mock-up model unit of the Yuhum Village at the Bacolod City Government Center will be formally opened to the public on Saturday with the arrival of the Secretary of the National Housing Authority in Bacolod City.
But prior to his arrival, an advanced party from the NHA will be in Bacolod today, he said.
Gonzalez said the intention of the mock-up design is for the people to appreciate the exact dimension of the area which is 3.5 meters in width, 7 meters in length and 3 meters in height. The basic unit comes with a toilet bowl, faucet and shower, and a kitchen counter with sink. The actual unit will be made up of solid modular concrete which is 6-inches thick and is earthquake-proof. This is the fastest technology and Bacolod will be a pilot city for this project.
The actual market value of each unit compared to other private developers will cost between 3 to 4 million pesos. He is trying to find a way to include the project in the socialized housing program of Pag-Ibig Fund so members will be able to acquire a unit in a period covering 25 to 30 years, he said.
In Bacolod, there are about 156,000 Pag-Ibig members and more than 50 percent of them have not availed of housing benefit because there is not enough available product for private developers to offer to the public, Gonzalez said.
The priority beneficiaries of the housing project are the informal settler families (ISF), which is estimated to be about 50,000 or more, especially those living in coastal barangays or those whose houses are situated in danger zones. Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez wants to clean-up the coastlines of the city. This will also solve other problems like flooding and garbage, he said.
They will come up with a profile of the people to determine who can afford their housing project. For now, they will target 10,000 ISF for a start and will continue to find a solution like acquiring new locations for their relocation or go into landbanking, which he will be recommending to the mayor, Gonzalez said.
The three areas where they will be putting up the housing project are the 6-hectare lot at the Arao Relocation site, 1.9-hectare city-owned property in Brgy. 8, and a 2-hectare private property owned by his company in Brgy. Banago, Gonzales said.*
