GOV’T TO BUILD CONDOS FOR P1-BILLION SOCIALIZED HOUSING PROJECT IN MANDAUE

Condominiums will be built for the socialized housing project that the Office of the President is planning for Mandaue City. “The only reasonable way to accommodate many families from the informal settlers will be to build vertical housing,” said Mayor Luigi Quisumbing. Last Tuesday, Quisumbing met with National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager Marcelino Escalada to discuss the project. The mayor said that around 800 units will be built in two sites. “Given the standard measurement of the NHA, it looks like we will be able to build close to 450 to 500 units for the informal settlers in Barangay Labogon. Then, we will be able to build something like around 300 for casual and regular government employees in Barangay Looc,” he said. However, he also said that there’s a possibility that the housing project will only be built on one site in Looc. “It depends on the site visit and recommendation by the NHA, which is being conducted this morning (yesterday) together with the team from the city engineering and city planning,” Quisumbing said. Based on NHA’s standard computation, the entire project is expected to cost around P1 billion. “We’re very thankful for the project from the President. It is our understanding that if all the systems are go, we would be able to do the ground breaking around August,” the mayor said. He added that the NHA will provide the City with a template for the mechanics in choosing the beneficiaries.