• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Mayor Alfredo Benitez said the initial plan to turn over to beneficiaries this month the first 296 units in the Asenso Yuhum Residences in Barangay Vista Alegre, Bacolod City, may not happen because the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) prefers the completion of all 20 buildings in the area first.
Benitez said Friday that he talked with DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar recently, and the latter told him it will have more impact if all 20 buildings will be completed before the State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. this July.
“Better kung tapuson na lang kay kung apat lang kag mag turnover basi wala impact…ginapadali ni Acuzar na tapuson before the SONA para mas nami ang impact,” the mayor explained, adding he will go with the preferences of the president and DHSUD.
Benitez last month said that Marcos will lead the turnover of the first 296 units in the four buildings already completed in the city-owned Arao property in Vista Alegre this February.
The four buildings comprise Phase 1 of the Asenso Yuhum project under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) program of the national government, and have been named Sampaguita One and Two, each with 64 units, Gumamela with 80 units, and Rosal with 88 units.
The 4PH is a flagship program of the Marcos administration that targets the construction of six million housing units by 2028, or one million units per year, to address the country’s housing backlog.
Bacolod is one of the first local government units in the country that entered into a memorandum of agreement with DHSUD, the 4PH program lead agency; the groundbreaking ceremony for the Asenso Yuhum Residences was held in September 2022.
The city said target beneficiaries are low-income and informal settler families (ISFs), who could avail themselves of units through membership with the Pag-IBIG Fund. The beneficiaries would be paying reduced monthly amortization of P2,300 over a period of 30 years.
Benitez earlier stressed that aside from the units that are affordable and the socialized housing approach, what highlights the Yuhum housing project are the facilities and amenities that come with the structure, including wide open spaces, a swimming pool, a clubhouse, multi-purpose hall, a basketball court, and a playground, among others. | CGC
