Mandaue's urban poor urged to register with housing board

CEBU, Philippines - The Housing and Urban Development Office (HUDO) of the Mandaue City government is urging all members of the urban associations in the city to register at the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

HUDO chief Emmabnuel Arong said members of urban poor associations should register with the HLURB first before they can avail of the government's Community Mortgage Program.

The city government is eyeing the 6.5-hectare lot in barangay Paknaan as relocation site for the city's informal settlers who live near creeks and rivers, which are considered danger zones.

The lot which is owned by the Lua family will be availed of by the city through the Community Mortgage Program (CMP).

Randy Librando, regional director of the Social Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (SHMFC) said his office has set aside P100 million for CMP which could be used to purchase the Paknaan lot.

He made this announcement in last week's meeting with the beneficiaries of the Paknaan lot at the Mandaue City Sports Complex and Cultural Center.

Lawyer Giovanni Teneiro of the City Legal Office said that as of now the city is working for the road right of way as these is one of the requirements of the CMP.

He said it has been found out that another lot owner who could be affected by the proposed road right of way and the city has been working on this.

The lot's current appraised value is P4,000 per square meter.

However, the owner is offering the lot to the city government at P2,000 per square meter.

Presently, there are around 2,360 informal settlers in the city who live along danger zones, which the city government is planning to relocate.