A group of Negrenses in Manila will be in Negros Occidental on March 11 to launch the Gawad Kalinga-Ilongga and have committed to build 50 houses in Brgys. Vista Alegre and Granada in Bacolod City, and in the Hope Village in Talisay.

This was disclosed by GK provincial director Roberto Magalona during the launching of the GK and Bacolod City government housing project at the Vista Alegre-Granada Relocation (Abada-Escay) site in Bacolod Saturday.

Magalona said the group includes former Miss International Aurora Pijuan, who is also a Negrense.

Meanwhile, Bacolod City donated P1 million seed money for the launching of the city and Gawad Kalinga housing project Saturday in Bgys. Vista Alegre-Granada. The city had entered into a memorandum of agreement with GK last year for the building of houses and community facilities for the poor and underprivileged sector of the city.

The city government allocated 120 home lots in Brgys. Vista Alegre-Granada for the project and will construct 20 houses in the area. Each unit is 64 square meters, and cost P50,000 per housing unit.

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella and Mayor Evelio Leonardia led the ground-breaking ceremonies Saturday together with Councilors Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Lyndon Caña, Al Victor Espino, Homer Bais, Dindo Ramos, Catalino Alisbo and Ana Marie Palermo.

Gawad Kalinga is responsible for the evaluation and selection of the beneficiaries for the housing project. The beneficiaries are squatter families from Brgy. 35 and Luholuhod in Brgy. Mandalagan.

Leonardia said that, with the support of Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, the city was able to realize the project despite a few problems they encountered in its early stages.

LAND BANKING NEEDED

He also said that the city encourages these projects which jive with the thrust of his administration to provide housing for families ejected from certain places in the city. Bacolod is one of the cities in the country with the highest number of homeless residents and it needs to pursue its land-banking program, he added.

This is one of the reasons which, Leonardia said, prodded him to reach out to Bacoleños situated, not only in various parts of the country, but even abroad, to support the thrust of the city to provide housing for its squatter dwellers.

Leonardia noted that when his administration came in in mid-2004, the city had no squatters relocation site. He said the GK site in Brgys. Vista Alegre-Granada was acquired from the proceeds of the joint venture agreement between the city and St. Rafael Development Corp., that was realized during his first term as mayor from 1995 to 1998.

'SWEET EQUITY' NEEDED

Magalona, on the other hand, said the only counterpart expected from the beneficiaries is the 2,000 hour of labor, or sweat equity, in building the housing units. The houses will then be raffled off to the beneficiaries, he said. What GK builds is not only houses for the poor, but relationships among neighbors, he added.

Magalona said the city provides GK the names of squatter families facing court ejectment cases and, from the list, they will identify the poorest of the poor. In Negros, there are 17 GK sites, and their group has constructed almost 700 houses, he said. GK hopes to construct 700,000 houses in 77 communities by 2010, he said, and these include 2,500 houses in Negros.*CGS

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