111 FAMILIES GET TITLES TO FORMER PHIL. COLUMBIAN LOT

The Manila City government has awarded land titles to at least 111 families who have been squatting on a private lot on Canonigo Street in Paco.

The awarding came 10 years after the city acquired the 4,845-sqm property—which was previously owned by the Philippine Columbian Association—for P23 million.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada distributed the titles on Wednesday under the “Land for the Landless Program” which the local government had been implementing since 2013.

“The new land owners of Canonigo Estate may now call themselves true owners of the lot,” Estrada said in a statement.

He also congratulated the beneficiaries and their families for supporting his administration’s vision to give shelter to the homeless.

Under the city government’s land distribution program, beneficiaries are given 20 to 30 years to pay for awarded lots at affordable rates.