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Friday, March 29, 2024

INC-NHA land deal paves way for more classrooms

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The Iglesia ni Cristo  and the National Housing Authority finalized a “land swapping” agreement on June 29 covering properties in Quezon City that would enable the Department of Education to build additional classrooms on a 2,000-square meter parcel of land next to the Holy Spirit National High School.   

INC originally owned the said parcel of land in Barangay Holy Spirit, Quezon City that was intended for its Republic and Riverside worship locales, but the property was considered inadequate for the Filipino Church’s ever-increasing number of members in the area.   

The land swap addresses the growing needs of Holy Spirit National High School, which needed to build more classrooms for its senior high school students. A non-contiguous area comprising approximately 2,000 square meters, coupled with a lack of funds, prevented the national government from expanding facilities that would benefit local residents in need of access to free secondary education.

Glicerio P. Santos IV, who represented the INC in the negotiations and the signing of the agreement, expressed the Church’s sentiments regarding the land swap.

“We are thankful that the NHA and the DepEd approached the INC to propose this agreement, which we believe addresses the needs of our Church and especially the needs of the students of Holy Spirit National High School,” said Santos.

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Santos added that these were the kinds of “public-private partnerships” that could benefit all the stakeholders involved.

“Done properly, these arrangements bring benefits to thousands of our citizens, and we will gladly take part in any endeavor that seeks to promote the welfare of our countrymen.”   

The land swap is the brainchild of DepEd NCR and the NHA’s National Government Center, which proposed the lot swapping agreement to the INC in 2014 to realize and implement the expansion.      

An NGC Resolution approving the swapping of lot allocations was approved on Feb. 10, 2015.   

INC eventually purchased the property after the Church and the NHA, which administered the lot, entered into a Memorandum of Agreement under the provisions of Republic Act No. 9207, which authorized the disposition of portions of land to charitable, educational and religious institution for either sociocivic or religious purposes.   

The funds acquired from the deal will be earmarked for the classroom project.   

Santos added that the INC looks forward to more substantial collaborative projects and agreements with the national government and LGUs as it pivots more actively to public assistance endeavors.

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