City readies transit houses for Dungon creek squatters
Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (ICUPAO) head Roni Firmeza said the City Engineers Office (CEO) is working fast to finish the construction of transit houses for families affected by the dredging of Dungon Creek.
Firmeza said the construction of transit houses for some 40 families is expected to finish in 10 days time. He said the San Isidro relocation site can accommodate more than the number of families affected by the rehabilitation project.
The relocation site can accommodate more than a thousand housing units.
There are only 402 houses in 13 barangays in La Paz and Jaro affected by the dredging of Dungon Creek. Majority of the families refused to transfer to the relocation site. They fear of losing their livelihood once they moved in to San Isidro.
Firmeza said the relocatees must see for themselves the relocation site and the corresponding construction works which include transit houses and housing units provided by the Gawad Kalinga, Italian government and other non-government organizations.
Firmeza The city government is also considering that the affected families will occupy the 30 housing units constructed under the auspices of the Gawad Kalinga. It is a temporary solution meantime they have no place to dwell.
He appealed to the informal settlers to cooperate with the city government to hasten the dredging works at the Dungon Creek which aims to alleviate flooding in the city.
Meanwhile, Firmeza said there are 19 formal settlers in Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao which are also affected by the dredging works. The area is covered by the National Housing Authority (NHA) housing project. Much improvement has been made by the owners.
The P50 million budget for the dredging project did not include the procurement of properties affected by the project. It is exclusively for the dredging purposes. There is no fund intended for the acquisition of right of way, said Firmeza.