Is Balik Lungsod program working?

Has any Cebu city squatter been guided back to his  hometown since the Capitol announced  its  “Balik Lungsod” program in January ?

There’s a blueprint for the program but accomplishment figures have yet to be reported.

It’s up to metro mayors to take up the offer, said Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday who was asked about the progress.

She said the Capitol won’t impose this out  of respect for its local officials.

In yesterday’s press conference, Garcia said assistance was ready by  the Provincial Social Welfare Development Office (PSWDO.

“Out of respect for the chief executive of Cebu City, we won’t interfere with their problem,” Garcia said in reference to Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama’s row with settlers of Mahiga Creek, a number of whom reportedly came from the province.

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Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he will consider availing of an P80 million loan for a socialized housing program for the urban poor.

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He said the program may include Mahiga Creek settlers whose homes were demolished as part of clearing operations in the creek.

In January, Garcia announced  she would  pursue a  “balik lungsod” program to encourage migrants in Metro Cebu to return to their hometowns.

The program is intended to stem the proliferation of informal settlers in urban areas who were blamed for clogging drainages.

Garcia said the presence of makeshift houses built along or on waterways, rivers, and canals aggravate a city’s flooding problems.

She said the province would be ready to assist informal settlers wishing to return to their towns.

Garcia called on mayors in the cities of Mandaue, Talisay and other urban areas to sit down and talk about addressing the “squatter” issues as a test of political “willpower.”

“We offered that but we will not go out there and start conducting an inventory of who would wish to go back to the towns. But if their constituents wish to go back to their towns, then certainly the province will assist,” the governor said.

In Cebu City, Rama said the city government may allocate an amount to pay for urban poor re-settlement sites at the City Center complex in barangay Kamagayan, in barangays Taboan and Guba and the Sugbu in Lahug.

A high rise urban poor condominium may be built at the City Center lot.

Rama said he would even order a revamp of the local housing board.

Even the 15-hectare Inayawan Sanitary Landfill may be converted into a socialized housing site, he said.

Rama said he wrote Vice President Binay on Feb. 24 to seek assistance on the city’s urban poor concerns.

In an April 13 reply, Binay  told Rama that the city could still avail of the balance of the P100 million loan offered by the national government’s housing council.

Of the loan amount, P21 million was already spent for the development of a 22, 956 sq. meter lot in Budlaan which was assigned as relocation site for lower Carreta urban poor families.

Rama said the city could still avail of the P79 million balance which may be charged an interest of six percent per annum. /Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus and Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac

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