Jan. 1 fire victims get P57M for new homes

The creekside Quezon City community razed by a fire on New Year’s Day will soon rise again with the city government setting aside more than P50 million for an on-site housing project for the displaced residents.

On Thursday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) signed an agreement with Quezon City for the release of P100 million in national government funds for socialized housing projects benefiting residents.

Of the amount, P57 million will be set aside for the construction of new houses for families affected by the Jan. 1 fire in Sitio Kaingin Bukid, Barangay Apolonio Samson, a press statement from the city government said.

A separate DILG statement added that there would be 765 informal-settler families from Barangay Apolonio Samson who would benefit from the more than 800 housing units to be build on the site.

According to the DILG, the on-site housing project seeks to remove families from danger zones without having to separate them from their sources of livelihood.

Around 4,000 families were affected by the Jan. 1 fire which razed most of the shanties in the area. With Jinky Cabildo and Rose Barroga