Hundreds of residents in Barangay Don Galo in Paranaque City ended an over 20-year wait as they finally received housing security with the awarding of the titles for their housing units.
This was done through the help of former President and Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who made sure that all the procedures needed for the issuance of their Certificates of Land Allocation (CELAs) were carried out.
As a result, 123 of more than 500 qualified beneficiaries received their CELAs Monday afternoon from Arroyo herself during an awarding ceremony in Don Galo.
Officials of the National Housing Authority said they were working round the clock so the remaining beneficiaries will receive their CELAs by June.
“We have ended the long wait through your diligent and hardworking homeowners,” Arroyo said to the delight of the residents who welcomed her.
Since 1995, the urban poor in Don Galo had been calling on the government to award the titles to their lots owned by the Philippine Reclamation Authority.
In 2005, then-President Arroyo issued Presidential Proclamation 964, declaring the 2.3 hectares in Don Galo for socialized housing.
However, owing to disagreements on the pricing of their lots, the processing of their CELAs was stalled. It took 14 years before talks started again, with the PRA acceding to the request of Speaker Arroyo in behalf of the residents that the price per square meter if the lots be pegged at the old rate of only P1,000.
With the agreement on the price, census validation was finished in just three days with the support of the NHA and the local government of Paranaque.