Lingayen, Pangasinan—For more than a decade, Grace Sison Rosal, an ambulant vendor, lived in an informal settlement at Palaris Poblacion, Lingayen, Pangasinan.
Masyadong marumi doon,” Rosal said.
He wanted to leave the place and build a home he could call his own.
Last July, Governor Ramon V. Guico III turned that elusive dream into a reality.
“Maganda yung tinatayuan ko ngayon, wala ng baha saka maganda ditong manirahan, tahimik,” Rosal happily responded.
The provision of decent housing was among the early directives of Gov. Guico in his first year of tenure.
“We give priority to giving homes to the homeless. We want to realize the dream of Pangasinan families to have their own home,” the governor said.
Since July this year, 68 individuals in Palaris, Poblacion, Lingayen have been relocated to the Aplaya West Resettlement Site here.
The resettlement site has an area of 2.4 hectares, and to date, the provincial government has already built 218 housing units to be awarded to informal settlers. From the said number, some 115 units are now occupied.
According to Provincial Human Settlements and Urban Development Authority (PHUDA) Chief Alvin Bigay, relocated individuals belong to poor families or are considered indigents.
“Ni-require namin sila ng mga certain certifications galing sa local government kagaya ng municipal assessor that they do not have other properties within Lingayen. May certification din ang barangay captain na talagang mahirap lang po ‘yung mga pamilyang ito,” Engr. Bigay stressed.
Jennifer Macaraeg, president of Informal Settler Families of Palaris, thanked Governor Guico for prioritizing their plight, as she stated that from an unsecured community, they were relocated to a safer and healthier site where they could feel a sense of security.
As described by Engr. Bigay: “Raw house type ang design ng ating Aplaya Resettlement project. Yung ground floor ay umabot ng 24.75 square meters tapos meron po siyang provision for loft. Ang area ng loft is 11.02 square meters, kaya’t may kabuuan po ang floor area na 36 square meters. So the total lot area is 45 square meters.”
Affordable monthly amortization of P500 will be collected, which will gradually increase to P600 or P700 until such time that a standard payment will be reached.
There are about 180,000 families throughout the province who need comfortable dwellings that they can call their own. Out of this number, Engr. Bigay stated that 45,000 are considered informal settlers.
Informal housing or informal settlement includes any form of housing or shelter that is considered “illegal” as it falls outside of government control or regulation or is not afforded protection by the state.
Hence, informal settlers are individuals or families who reside in mostly urban areas or spaces that are crowded and have poor sanitation. Common categories associated with informal settlements include slums, shanty towns, squats, homelessness, backyard housing, and pavement dwellers.
“Our dream for the informal settlers is to issue titles for their own homes,” Gov. Guico stated during his State of the Province Address.
(Ruby F. Rayat with a report from Rich Majin/PIMRO)
