Housing and settlement execs bare plan for Visayas LGUs

MANILA, Philippines — Officials of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) have presented the administration’s priority housing program, especially for informal settlers, to local government executives in the Visayas.

“Major cities and provinces in the Visayas recorded a significant number of informal settler families and people living in calamity-prone areas. It is a must to prioritize the Visayas group of islands,” DHSUD Secretary Jose Acuzar said in a statement yesterday.

Acuzar met and discussed the matter over the weekend with the city mayors including Albee Benitez of Bacolod, Jerry Treñas of Iloilo, Jonas Cortes of Mandaue and Alfred Romualdez of Tacloban as well as Iloilo Gov. Art Defensor.

“The DHSUD highlighted the significant role of local government units in the successful implementation of the program meant to address the country’s housing backlog and resettle families to safer grounds,” the agency said in a statement.

Aside from meeting local leaders, the DHSUD executives also inspected several potential housing project sites in the region.

Acuzar, a real estate businessman prior to becoming DHSUD chief, said that part of the administration’s priority is to address the more than 6.5-million housing backlog including the estimated 3.7 million housing units for informal settlers.

He said most of the mayors committed to support the administration’s housing blueprint and expressed willingness to allot land resources for the development of new project sites.

“I am confident with the help of our local government units to develop and transform these informal settlements into prime residential and world-class developments for the benefit of our countrymen, especially those in the low-income bracket,” Acuzar said.

Earlier, Acuzar met with local officials in the National Capital Region and presented housing programs and projects for the region.