NHA to build houses for 1,400 Masbate families in ‘danger zones’

MASBATE CITY—A P280-million housing project intended for 1,400 families living in “danger zones” in Masbate City is under way.

The city government provided 15 hectares of government-owned, roadside land in Barangay Maingaran as counterpart for the project, which is funded and supervised by the national government through the National Housing Authority (NHA).

Alberto Perfecto, NHA regional manager in Bicol, said the project primarily intended to relocate informal settlers in Kinamaligan, who had been living in the shoreline and, in some instances, over the shallow portion of the sea, which had been deemed danger zones.

“The government is prioritizing Masbate because it’s one of the poorest provinces that need immediate response, based on the assessment by the Presidential Management Staff,” Perfecto said on Saturday.

The memorandum of agreement between the NHA and the city government on the project was signed on June 18.

The first phase of the project would start right after the bidding process to determine the developer to be held sometime in October this year, said Perfecto. The project is expected to be completed in 2013, said Perfecto.