Las Piñas City councilor Mark Anthony Santos asked the National Housing Authority (NHA) to award the remaining 10-hectare land in Barangay BF International Village-CAA to qualified residents who have lived in the area for over four decades.
“For the past four decades, the current residents, mostly located along CCA area have petitioned the local and national government to dispose in their favor the land they occupy,” said Santos.
Santos said the government land, currently under the Air Transportation Office (ATO), is suitable for disposition to around 5,000 families. Presidential Declaration No. 427, signed by former President Joseph Estrada in 2000, declared 52 hectares of the 62-hectare CAA area as alienable and disposable.
Following the declaration, residents received certificates of ownership and were required to make minimal payments over 25 years.
Originally known as Baryo Tuntong, the elevated terrain served as an airfield, Nichols Number 4, during the Japanese occupation from 1943 to 1944. It later became Camp No. 4 during World War II and then a receiver station for the Civil Aeronautics Administration of the Philippines.
In the 1970s and 1980s, government programs like the Zonal Improvement Program transformed the area, and residents benefited from tax exemptions.
Legally named Barangay BF International Village through Presidential Decree 1334 in 1978, the area has a rich history and is home to long-time residents who have been advocating for land ownership.
Santos emphasized the need to evaluate government-owned land for potential socialized housing, particularly after learning that residents in Barangay BF International Village-CAA are paying monthly rent to the ATO.
Once the remaining 10-hectare land is awarded, the city government plans to construct at least eight medium-rise condominium units in collaboration with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pamilyang Pilipino (4PH) program.
