ILOILO City – “Happy gid ko ya kay maka-angkon na kami sang balay nga amon gid ya. (I am very happy. We’re going to have a house we can call our own).
Fifty-three-year old Ramona Chavez was overcome with emotion upon hearing her name called as one of the three initial winners of the city government’s raffle draw for socialized housing units after Monday’s flag-raising ceremony.
Qualified for the raffle are city hall employees with Salary Grade 8 and below and with at least five years of service as regular employee by Dec. 31, 2021 (services as job hire included). Also, they must not have real property (no house).
Chavez and her family were displaced by fire in 2009 and hopped from one house to another. At present, they are residing at her younger sibling’s house.
There was a time the whole family stayed in the house of her daughter and the latter’s husband in Pavia, Iloilo.
Chavez has been working at city hall for 25 years. She started as a casual in 1997 and became a regular employee in 2000.
Currently, Chavez works as an Administrative Assistant II under the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO).
The two other initial housing raffle winners were Mary Jane Porras of the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) and Cecilia Dela Cruz, also an Administrative Assistant II at the PSTMO.
According to Mayor Jerry Treñas, raffle will be held every Monday.
A total of 120 housing units will be raffled off.
Treñas thanked SM Prime Holdings and its construction division, SM Development Corporation (SMDC), that would build the socialized housing units.
The “Uswag Low Rise Residential Building” project in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro district has a P247-million budget; P217 million is allotted for the residential building while the P30 million is for the site development.
The budget will come from the 15 percent of the housing balance compliance of SMDC nationwide.
“So the more condominium nga ginapaobra sa syudad, the more socializing housing units we can get,” said Treñas.
The city mayor acknowledged the importance of housing and vowed that the city government will continue to prioritize it.
“Sige-sige ang bakal sang syudad sang relocation sites…seguro sa tanan ta nga projects – nag-obra ta dalan, hospital, basketball courts, gyms kag iban pa – ang pinakanami gid nga project is kon makahatag ka sa isa ka tawo sang iya maistran,” said Treñas.
Located in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro district, the construction of the low-rise condominium for low-salaried employees will start this March and is expected to be completed after a year and a half.
Aside from this, another housing project for informal settlers will rise also in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro. The groundbreaking was held just this Feb. 24.
An initial 240 informal settlers families (ISF) affected by infrastructure projects in the metropolis will benefit from the Uswag Residential Complex housing project.
Treñas specifically thanked Ilonggo senator Franklin Drilon for facilitating the funding for four low-rise buildings to be built by the National Housing Authority (NHA) in the coming months.
The city mayor added that Cong. Julienne Baronda has also facilitated another six low-rise buildings.
“We have a total of 720 housing units…720 (families) ang mahatagan ta sang ila gid ya matawag nga ila balay,” Treñas said./PN
