Former president and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has vowed to help more than 5,000 urban poor families in Parola, Manila, get their land titles.
Speaking during the ceremonies for the awarding of Certificate of Land Awards to some 80 beneficiaries in Parola, Binondo, Arroyo said she will ask Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez to convene the Oversight Committee Housing which he heads to facilitate the awarding of titles to the urban poor beneficiaries in Parola, both in Binondo and Tondo.
“Magpapa-convene tayo ng Oversight sa Committee on Housing kay Congressman Benitez para maayos natin ang mga titulo ninyo,” Arroyo told the residents.
She went to Parola on Friday to lead the awarding of the CELAs to the beneficiaries. It was the first time the first batch of CELAs were distributed to residents since 2004.
Arroyo first went to the house of Lucy Santos on Gate 15, Area D, to see the condition of the community. Santos was the resident who first talked to then President Arroyo in 2004 when she was asked for help to give housing security in their village.
As a result of her consultations with Santos and the homeowners’ organization in the area, she issued Presidential Proclamation 581 in March 2004, setting aside more than 5 hectares in Parola in Tondo and in Binondo for socialized housing for the squatters in the area.
But since she issued the proclamation, the awarding of titles was delayed as several government agencies had laid their claims over the property. Arroyo was told that both the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Philippine National Railways were claiming ownership of the Tondo side of Parola, which delayed the purchase of the lot areas by the residents.
“Nalaman ko na pinag-aagawan pala ng DENR at PNR kasi kapag nabayaran na ninyo ang inyong lupa sino raw ang tatanggap ng pera? DENR ba o PNR?,” Arroyo told the residents.
The Binondo side of Parola is also experiencing the same problem because a portion of the land is being claimed by the Government Service Insurance System.
As a result, Arroyo said she had instructed Manila Rep. Yul Servo and Manuel Lopez to coordinate with Benitez to convene his Oversight Committee on Housing to summon the government offices and other attached agencies to thresh out the issues with respect to the land titling in Parola.
She said the Oversight Committee hearings will be held despite the start of the campaign period, but she was not seeking any post.
Joven Pajora, one of the beneficiaries of the CELA said they were forever grateful to Arroyo for giving them another chance to acquire their land. He said after she stepped down, no one paid them attention and it was only when she again stepped in as speaker that CELAs had finally been awarded to them.