P44-M row houses rising for Manila’s poorest

SLUMS NO MORE An artist’s rendition of the Sitio Dubai housing project OFFICE OF THE MANILA MAYOR

ROW HOUSES are set to be constructed for at least 128 families in Tondo, Manila, under a P44.5-million resettlement project cofunded by the national and city governments.

The homes should be finished by June for the city’s “poorest of the poor,” according to Mayor Joseph Estrada, who led the Feb. 22 groundbreaking ceremony at the project site in Sitio Dubai inside Baseco Compound.

In an interview Thursday, City Engineer Roberto Bernardo said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will shell out P36 million for the homes and infrastructure, while P8.5 million will come from the city government for the access roads.

“It’s an in-city relocation program. Those who gave way for the demolition and replacement of their shanties in that area are the chosen beneficiaries, as selected by [the city government’s] Urban Settlements Office and Local Inter-Agency Committee,” Bernardo said.

He added that Estrada had asked the city council to pass an ordinance that will declare the Sitio Dubai housing project “free” for its beneficiaries.

The new homes will occupy a portion of the 3.5-hectare sitio. Each of the 128 single-level units will occupy a floor area of 25 to 28 square meters.

A rainwater catchment facility would be installed so that the families could use the collected water for sanitation and reduce their water bills, Bernardo said.

The project was bid out among three possible contractors and was eventually awarded to Mar-Vel Construction and Supply, a Sta. Rosa, Laguna-based firm, said Bernardo.

The city government is looking at working with the National Housing Authority (NHA), again together with the DILG, for a medium-rise housing project in also in Baseco.

“If this [Sitio Dubai] housing project is successful—and we are sure it will be—there are funds readily available from the DILG for more developments,” said Bernardo. “We’ve already submitted to the NHA [our proposal] for a medium-rise building.”