• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said that 288 housing units in the Bacolod Yuhum Village in Barangay Vista Alegre are ready for delivery to beneficiaries next month.
DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar, accompanied by Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez and other housing and city officials, inspected Nov. 10 the ongoing construction of the housing units that is under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH), a flagship program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“This is in compliance to the order of the President to expedite the delivery of shelters to our beneficiaries under the Pambansang Pabahay,” Acuzar stressed in a statement, adding the housing units “serve as our President’s Christmas gifts to the beneficiaries.”
Aside from the housing units in Vista Alegre, the city government is also planning to construct Yuhum Residences-Banago and Yuhum Residences-Estefania.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod already authorized Benitez to sign the tripartite memoranda of agreement for these two housing projects, also under the 4PH, with DHSUD and the Home Development Mutual Fund.
Under the MOA, the Yuhum Residences-Banago will have 13 condominium units in a 33,564 square-meter property in Purok Bayanihan. “The total project cost is P4,443,075,000, computed as land acquisition cost in the amount of P335,640,000 plus construction cost of P4,107,435,000”.
The one in Barangay Estefania will have 10 condominium units, with total project cost of P2,115,600,000, or land acquisition amounting to P296,891,235 and construction cost of P1,818,708,765.
Benitez earlier said his administration targets the construction of 10,000 housing units, especially intended for informal settler families, under the 4PH.
This national program seeks to build six million housing units by 2028, or one million units per year, to address the country’s housing backlog.
“I am elated that Bacolod City is the first LGU that can deliver under the Pambansang Pabahay, since Mayor Benitez really works hard for the housing sector,” Acuzar said as he expressed his gratitude to Benitez for his all-out support to the 4PH.
“Dahil po sa pagpupursigi ni Mayor Benitez kaya naging matagumpay ang proyektong ito. Maswerte ang mga taga-Bacolod dahil sa inyong masipag na mayor,” Acuzar said in a DHSUD statement, adding that during Benitez’s term as Negros Occidental 3rd District representative, he principally sponsored a bill that eventually led to the enactment of Republic Act 11201, which created the DHSUD.
Bacolod is among the first local government units in the country to be enrolled under the 4PH. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Yuhum Village was held in September last year, with Acuzar as guest of honor.
The DHSUD said that, so far, about 20 4PH projects in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao are ongoing, with private contractors and LGUs in the lead. | CGC
