Resettlement of poor families in Intramuros to start in April

THE Intramuros Administration (IA) is targeting to complete the resettlement of 470 families from the poor communities in the walled city by October this year.

IA Administrator Guiller Asido told the BusinessMirror the agency broke ground last December 13 on a property in Morong, Rizal, where the families will be resettled. “The Intramuros Homeowners Association, composed of the 470 families has also been registered with the Socialized Housing Finance Corp. [SHFC]. By April 2022, we will have the first 100 houses completed and relocation to start,” he said.

He added all 470 houses are targeted for completion by October 2022.

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“We have already signed the MOAs [memorandums of agreement] with the property owners as well as binding them to the program, and also signed by the family beneficiary representatives,” said Asido.

Last February 23, the IA met with the SHFC Board of Directors, which approved the implantation of Phase 2 of the project, or the construction of the houses. Under phase 1, the SHFC had approved the land development and purchase of the property in Morong. The selection of the site was in consultation with the informal settler families.

Most of the beneficiary families are currently living on the property owned by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines along General Luna Street, and another property near the Lyceum of the Philippines University.

25 years to pay

Asido said the cost of each house is P580,000 but “the amortization starts at only P800 a month. On the 11th year, it will be P2,500 a month. We are still finalizing the guidelines because what we would like as well is that a portion of whatever they pay will be savings that they will receive at the end of the amortization period.” The informal settlers have 25 years to pay for their houses.

Meanwhile, the lowering of the alert level in Metro Manila has helped boost the number of visitors to Intramuros, one of the key destinations in the region.

Data provided by the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed over 67,000 visitors from the beginning of the year to February 23, 2022. On a monthly basis, visitors in February reached 38,154, or 32 percent higher than the 28,855 visitors in January.

“The increase in visitors to Intramuros’ various sites reflects the optimism and confidence in travel,” said Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, who also chairs the IA, which manages the walled city.

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“With its open spaces, lush gardens, and the strict implementation of health and safety protocols, Intramuros is an ideal site to visit in the new normal,” she added Puyat, noting that under Alert Level 2, protocols on physical distancing, contact tracing, and the maximum number of visitors per site are strictly observed in the destination.

Intramuros sites that are open include Fort Santiago (weekdays: 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.); weekends: (6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.), Casa Manila Museum (weekends only: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and the Baluarte de San Diego (daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

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The article was originally published in Business Mirror and written by Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo.

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