January 17, 2018

Habitat for Humanity Philippines Foundation, Inc. and the Silay City Government will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 18, to start the construction of the multi-million disaster-resilient housing project at Bon Bon Phase 3 Resettlement Site in Brgy. E Lopez.

Arriving in Silay City to join Mayor Mark Golez for the groundbreaking are Habitat’s Vice President for Asia Pacific Rick Hathaway, Managing Director Michael Meaney, and Project Director Lily Fuentes.

According to Ma. Victoria Abello, HHPFI project manager for Western Visayas, they have also invited Congressman Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, chair of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, to join the groundbreaking for the construction of the initial 100 cement-bamboo framed housing units or 50 duplexes valued at about P45 million.

Also invited to the ground breaking are Vice Mayor Joedith Gallego and the Silay City Council, Naational Housing Authority Bacolod Area Manager, Engr. Alejandro Ongsuco, Silay City Water District General Manager Jose Luis Ledesma, Jr., Central Negros Electric Cooperative Silay Field Office Manager Lilibeth Gabian, and Brgy. E Lopez Punong Barangay Debbie Jinon and Council.

Although the Nov. 13, 2017 Memorandum of Agreement between Habitat and the Silay City initially outlined the first 100 units this year, Habitat has expressed its commitment to construct a total of 546 housing units in Bon Bon Phase 3, including community facilities, within the next few years.

Abello added that training of the workers for the cement-bamboo frame technology, and actual construction will start on January 22, while orientation and drawing of priority numbers for identified qualified beneficiaries will be held on January 28.

Under Habitat’s program, beneficiaries are required to provide sweat equity, and attendance to seminars or meetings are counted as part of the sweat equity.
Silay City was chosen as the project site because it has an LGU owned property which is already developed and buildable.

According to Alore Golez, officer in charge of the Silay Housing Authority Office, the City Government availed of the LGU Resettlement Assistance Program of the NHA under which a city can have a maximum of P12 million grant and P12 million loan to develop LGU owned property for resettlement sites.