MANILA, Philippines — Some 120 families who were evicted from a housing project in Rodriguez town, Rizal province, in 2006 have been relocated and given new lots by the Rizal provincial government in San Jose village.
The families — all members of the Pinagpala Homeowners Association — were former occupants of the National Housing Authority’s Sub-Urban Housing Project who were evicted in 2006 by the Rodriguez municipal government.
Rizal Governor Casimiro Ynares III and acting Rodriguez Mayor Jonas Cruz recently awarded these families entry permits and land ownership documents for 40 square-meter lots at the Jovil Village III Relocation Project, also within Rodriguez.
In a statement, Ynares said the provincial government had negotiated with the government-run Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC) to accommodate the evicted families at the relocation project in Jovil Village III.
The lots will be sold to the beneficiary-families at only P1,600 per square meter, payable in 10 years, through a direct buying scheme with the HGC. The 120 lots were distributed to the urban poor families without down payments.
Earlier this month, the provincial government of Rizal also distributed new lots to 161 informal settlers in Taytay, Rizal.
The Rizal government’s Housing and Resettlement Division negotiated with the private landowner, Doctor Adolfo Hinayon, to sell the 6,538 square-meter property to the informal settlers occupying the area.
The informal settlers collectively paid a 10-percent down payment of P947,700 and would amortize the balance.