Photo from the official Facebook page of PCO
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has transferred ownership of a 2.1872-hectare (ha) part of the Parola Estate in Tondo, Manila, to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) for development under the government’s housing program.
The government has been trying to tap the 9.6-ha property, but plans have been hindered by ownership disputes between the Philippine National Railway, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Government Services Insurance System since the 1990s.
In 2001, then President Gloria Arroyo signed Proclamation No. 96, declaring the land open for disposition, subject to private rights and a survey.
READ: Marcos eyeing construction of more housing units
Under Proclamation No. 610, dated June 21, Marcos transferred a 21,872-square-meter parcel of the estate to the DHSUD for “township development purposes.”
The proclamation authorized the DHSUD to own and carry out urban development on the parcel of land, subject to a final ground survey.
The President allowed the DENR secretary to issue the corresponding special patent covering the area reserved for township development purposes and created an interagency committee composed of representatives from the DHSUD, DENR and Manila city government.
The body will craft and issue the implementing rules and regulations for the township development of the said parcel of land and “identify the beneficiaries of the housing component of the township development.”
Marcos’ latest issuance came a month after he released Administrative Order No. 21, which ordered the creation of an interagency coordinating council that will complete an inventory of all government-owned lands for its strategic use.
In July last year, the President also issued Executive Order (EO) 34, which declared the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program as the government’s flagship national housing project. EO 34 also reserved vacant government lands for socialized housing projects for families wanting to own their own homes.