470 poor families to become homeowners

Another batch of families who have been illegally occupying private lots in Manila will soon get a chance to have their own houses.

Under the Land for the Landless program, the Manila government will award land certificates to 470 families who are among the city’s urban poor.

Under the program, the city government will buy privately owned property for distribution to qualified applicants.

Awardees, in turn, will be asked to vacate the areas they have been squatting on after two years.

They will given 20 to 30 years to pay for their new homes at affordable rates and cannot sell or rent these out for 20 years without written consent from the mayor’s office, according to the city’s urban settlements office chief, Danny Isiderio. —Mariejo S. Ramos