Lorega condo ready for poor dwellers

At least 40 urban poor families are ready to move in today to the three-story urban poor condominium built in a former cemetery in barangay Lorega-San Miguel, Cebu City.

This developed after Tanny Go, project director of the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Lorega project, announced yesterday that 40 of the 60 condominium units were ready for occupancy.

Called Condoville 1, the condo units would be given to its occupants for free.

Go said that the occupants would only have to take care of their utility bills and the upkeep of their units.

Lorega residents especially those families who lived on top of tombs would be given priority for relocation into the GK urban poor condominium units, said Lorega barangay captain Fritz Herrera.

“This has been our dream on site relocation. Urban poor families will no longer be relocated to the mountains,” said former congressman Raul del Mar (Cebu City north).

The GK project involves building the condominium after the Lorega cemetery was converted into a socialized housing site .

The project was funded by the Priority Assistance Development Fund (PDAF) of former congressman Del Mar who allocated P10 million.

Another P2 million was given by the Action for Nurturing Children, a nongovernment organization headed by Fr. Max Abalos.

Yesterday, Del Mar, city and barangay officials inspected the GK site in preparation for today’s turnover of the completed condo units.

Go said once the remaining 20 units which were still undergoing finishing touches, would be completed then the Gawad Kalinga would proceed with the preliminary work needed for the construction of the second to fourth buildings.

Del Mar said there’s still vacant space inside the 1.9 hectare Lorega cemetery, there is still room to build more GK condominium units.

“The first structure should be replicated. There is nothing that we cannot do. Cutie (Cebu City North district Rep. Rachel Marguerite del Mar) and I will work to get more funding for the project. But GK has to assure us that the site is already ready before we can commit more funding,” Del Mar said.

Councilor Alvin Dizon, head of the City Council’s committee on housing, said that the GK project was proof that even the “impossible” can be done with everybody’s help.

He said that social preparations for the urban poor condominium project started during the administration of former mayor and now South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña.

Actual construction, however, started in June 2011.