VP wants homes for informal settlers

MANILA, Philippines - The government is looking at building houses for informal settlers who will be affected by the North-South Railway project, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Saturday.

“We will use the mass housing beside the railway,” Robredo said in an interview.

“If we relocate them to places with no livelihood, they will only come back,” she added.

Robredo, who chairs the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, wants the HUDCC to conduct a survey on the number of informal setters who will be affected by the project.

The National Economic and Development Authority board has approved the North-South Railway project.

According to Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, this is the biggest infrastructure project of the Duterte administration.

Diokno said the railway project amounting to P213.99 billion would benefit the Bicol region.

The 653-kilometer railway will run from Tutuban in Manila to Matnog, Sorsogon.

The project will be funded by official development assistance either from Japan or China, the budget department said.