PLARIDEL, Bulacan — Breakaway members of the urban poor group Kalipunan ng damayang mahihirap (Kadamay) have been given units at social housing projects relinquished by beneficiary soldiers and policemen in Pandi town.
Ramon Paragas, Bulacan office director of the National Housing Authority (NHA), said the agency released notices of award to 214 families, which bolted the group that forcibly took over 6,000 unoccupied homes at six NHA housing projects on March 8 last year.
The former Kadamay members were scheduled to be given their entry passes, which would cement their status as housing beneficiaries.
On Saturday in Plaridel, entry passes were also distributed to employees and families relocated from danger zones.
They formally moved in to the 543 housing units at Casa Vista in Barangay Sipat.
Other beneficiaries
Last week in Bocaue town, 158 families moved in to the Bocaue Heights housing project that was also initially designed for soldiers and policemen at Barangay Batia.
Early this year, at least 696 homeless families of Bustos town and informal settlers from other areas were also given units.
Paragas said the redistribution of units meant for soldiers, policemen, firemen and jail employees were facilitated by Joint House Resolution No. 2, which allowed P20.8 billion worth of shelter projects in 2011 to be given to nonuniformed personnel.
Since the so-called “Occupy Bulacan” movement last year when 8,000 families took over idle units mostly in housing projects at Pandi, residents and the police in Plaridel, Bocaue and Bustos have secured the social housing projects in the towns to prevent Kadamay invasions.
Faction
But 214 of these Kadamay families left the group and applied for the homes they took, heeding the call of one of their leaders, Jeffrey Ariz, to seek eligibility for low-cost homes instead of following Kadamay’s hard line stance for new housing mortgage terms.
Michael Beltran, Kadamay information officer, criticized the breakaway group for selling out to NHA. —Carmel Reyes-Estrope