CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Division on the Welfare of Urban Poor (DWUP) is now assessing the actual number of beneficaries of the 93-1 land swap deal in the 11 affected barangays.
DWUP head Engineer Dante Arcilla said that they are assessing the number of beneficiaries because they expected an increase over the years.
The actual beneficiaries of the 93-1 lots based on the residents in 1992, when the programe began, should only be 5,000, but because the families expanded over the years, they expect more beneficiaries to be listed.
The DWUP notes that only 3,500 families of the original 93-1 homeowners have yet to completely pay for their the lots and acquire the title for the land, but this 3,500 would have increased by 2022.
In fact, in Sitio Lawis and Sitio Alaska in Barangay Mambaling, the original 200 beneficiaries have now become 600. With this, the DWUP is now expecting a rise in beneficiaries in other areas as well.
“Ten days atong assessment, nakastart na tag three days. Ginasurvey pa nato ang number of beneficiaries as part sa implementation sa 93-1,” said Arcilla.
Lawyer Colin Rosell, the legal consultant of Mayor Michael Rama, explained that it is necessary to hold consultations and assessment with the beneficiaries of the 93-1 lots for the Landswap Deal because once the lots are transferred to the posession of the city, they will be paying the city to take ownership of the lots.
Rosell said that the 93-1 program is essentially a housing project back in 1993, where the city provides a financing scheme for the homeowners to pay for the lots so they will eventually own them.
Back then, the payment was given to the provincial government and the city government provided loans to the homeowners.
The Cebu Provincial Governemnt is still the technical owners of the 93-1 lots, which is why the Cebu City governemnt needs the land swap so that it can take hold of the housing program.
While the land swap is negotiated independently from the 93-1 housing program, Rosell said it is impossibel not to involve the beneficiaries because they will be the ones paying for the lots.
This is also the reason why the beneficiaries have been anxious to implement the program after the deal signed by former mayor Tomas Osmeña, and former governor, now Vice Governor Hilario Davide III, in 2018.
However, that deal was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA), which is why the incumbent administrations had to renegotiate the deal.
“Kinahanglan ma involve gyod ang beneficiaries sa deal kay sila may mobayad. Housing development man ni nga project,” he said.
Mayor Michael Rama said that his administration wants to put an end to the 93-1 issue that has gone on for 29 years, especially since the longer the program is put on hold, the bigger the problem it becomes.
“Kailangan makakita tag progress. By March 25, the 93-1 deal must be presented to the City Council,” said the mayor.
The mayor has instructed a marathon consultations and negotations over the 93-1 land swap deal before March 25 in hopes that before this term ends on July 2022, the over 3,500 beneficiaries will finally call their homes their own.
/bmjo
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Rama wants 93-1 land swap deal settled by March 25