Cebu City to build medium-rise buildings for informal settlers

CEBU CITY -- The Cebu City government plans to build three medium-rise buildings in Barangays Lorega and Mambaling next year and is looking at the construction of another five buildings in Barangay Quiot and two in Barangay Budlaan in the next few years.

This was revealed by Simeon Romarate, head of the Cebu City Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) in Mugstoria Ta, an online conversation hosted by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) Thursday.

Romarate said that each building will have a 1,000-square-meter floor area and can accommodate 96 families.   Each family/beneficiary gets a studio-type unit which will have a floor area of 22-24 square meters.

Romarate also bared that Cebu City Government released more than 200 individual deeds of sale to families who availed of the City’s urban poor project that have fully paid their dues to own a lot for a lifetime.  It was released during the celebration of the Solidarity Week last week.

DWUP screens all the applicants or the poor and deserving families who want to own a lot in the City through its Beneficiary Screening Committee.  Romarate clarified that the program gives priority only to families who were relocated to government-owned lots due to demolitions and fire incidents.

To qualify, according to Romarate that those applying for the program are required to present the Certificate of Displacement so that DWUP can help them acquire the government lot they are currently occupying.

Another DWUP project is the Let There Be Light program, an initiative of the Cebu City Government to help families whose houses they are renting don’t have electricity.   From January 2020 to October 31, 2020, DWUP was able to facilitate 2,890 households to have electricity connection, Romarate bared.

Once the applicant can submit the consent of the house owner, DWUP can immediately facilitate the processing of the request for power connection. After the approval of the request, the applicant will have to pay for the cost of materials and labor of the electric company-accredited electrician for the transaction to be completed. (Photos: OPAV)