New homes, school await floodway shanty dwellers

The Pasig City government is targeting the relocation of some 3,000 squatter families living near the Manggahan floodway by 2014.

In an interview Thursday, Mayor Maribel Eusebio said low-cost homes for the informal settlers occupying this “danger zone” were nearing completion, including 150 units in Barangay San Miguel, some 1,000 units in Rizal province, and more in Laguna province.

“We will finish everything (so all the families) will be provided housing,” Eusebio told the Inquirer.

For those who will be transferred to Laguna, a high school campus has been recently constructed at their relocation site.  “We know it’s not easy to be relocated … Because they need work (at the new site), they also need a school,” she said.

She said the city government’s urban planning and housing unit was in charge of the in-city and off-site relocation of all the families.

“We want (them) to be safe especially from floods during the rainy season. We hope they accept the government’s offer of affordable housing because we will also help them build a better life,” she said.  Kristine Felisse Mangunay