DECADES-LONG GAP: NHA contractor’s delay left Iloilo River Plains families without titles

ILOILO CITY — A subdivision survey plan that went unapproved for more than a decade delayed the transfer and titling of homes for beneficiaries of the Iloilo River Plains Subdivision (IRPS), according to the Iloilo City Local Housing Office (ICLHO).

State auditors have separately flagged the project’s prolonged lack of formal security-of-tenure documents.

The ICLHO confirmed to Daily Guardian that the subdivision survey plan prepared by the National Housing Authority’s (NHA) contractor was approved only in May 2026, more than a decade after the housing project was implemented.

The IRPS project was intended to provide permanent housing to about 1,000 informal settler families who previously lived along the banks of the Iloilo River and its tributaries and were relocated under the city’s river development initiative.

Located in barangays Camalig and Lanit in Jaro district, the project was supported by the office of then-Sen. Franklin Drilon and implemented through agreements between the city government and NHA.

Construction of Phase I formally began Aug. 16, 2012, and the completed project was turned over in June 2014.

Under the March 5, 2012, memorandum of agreement, NHA was obligated to prepare project development plans, technical specifications, and cost estimates; secure an approved subdivision plan from the Land Management System; and formally turn over all completed infrastructure works to the city.

The city government, in turn, was responsible for pre-relocation, relocation, and post-relocation activities; estate management, including lot disposition and the collection of fees or charges; and the issuance of formal land tenure documents as approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

A 2025 Commission on Audit (COA) report, however, showed that while all 1,000 families currently occupy the residential units, they do so without formal usufruct agreements, conditional contracts to sell, or approved deeds of conveyance securing their legal rights to the property.

A usufruct agreement grants a party the right to use and occupy a property owned by another.

The audit identified NHA’s failure to formally turn over the completed infrastructure and provide the required approved subdivision plan as the primary cause of the delay.

COA also faulted the city government for inadequate monitoring and for failing to make earlier formal demands to compel NHA’s compliance.

The state auditors first flagged the lack of formal tenure documents and the project’s incomplete turnover in their 2020 audit report.

Subdivision plan delayed

ICLHO head Peter Millare told Daily Guardian the city began reviewing its housing projects, including their status in titling, repayment, and homeowners’ association organization, after the office was established in 2023.

On June 10, 2024, the office emailed NHA to request documents and updates on IRPS, Millare said.

The housing office said its subsequent coordination with NHA and the project’s contractor focused on determining the actual project cost and completing the outstanding requirements needed to move the project forward.

The process was complicated by the death of the original NHA project-in-charge, whose responsibilities were assumed by an officer-in-charge district manager.

In February 2024, ICLHO announced that its technical team had revised the subdivision’s site development plan after identifying inconsistencies in the original block layout.

The office said Blocks 12 and 13 had been positioned where Blocks 45 and 44 should have been, prompting the renumbering of Blocks 12 to 49 and changes in the coverage of homeowners’ associations in Villages 2 to 7.

The revisions did not affect individual lot numbers, ICLHO said.

Following a meeting with NHA, the city said it learned that the original subdivision survey had not secured the necessary approvals.

The City Council subsequently approved an ordinance on Aug. 14, 2024, allowing ICLHO to apply for the required preliminary and final development approvals for the IRPS project.

The processing of individual land titles, however, remained on hold because the subdivision survey plan had not been approved.

Millare said the plan was approved in May 2026 after the city pursued its completion with the parties concerned.

The city learned of the approval only in June 2026, he said, claiming NHA had not communicated the development to the local government.

Millare also explained that the city needed a Certificate of Registration and License to Sell from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) before it could legally proceed with land disposition and cost-recovery activities at IRPS.

The approved subdivision survey plan is one of the requirements for this certification.

DHSUD, created under Republic Act 11201 in 2019, took over the regulatory functions of the former Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, including the issuance of licenses to sell.

City Hall pursues project turnover

Millare said the city continued pressing NHA to complete the remaining requirements and formally transfer the project.

He said the housing office requested a deed of transfer from Robin Christopher Reyes, officer in charge of the NHA Iloilo District Office, who provided a draft for the city’s processing.

The city endorsed the document to the City Council to secure the mayor’s authority to sign it.

Documents obtained by Daily Guardian showed that NHA, under General Manager Joeben Tai, and Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu signed the Deed of Transfer and Acceptance on Oct. 5, 2026.

The signing marked a key step in formally transferring the project to the city after years of delays.

The transfer, however, does not automatically mean that every qualified beneficiary has received an individual title.

The remaining requirements for lot disposition, beneficiary validation, and individual titling must still be completed, ICLHO said.

Pag-IBIG financing eyed

Millare said the city is now preparing requirements for Pag-IBIG Fund’s Group Land Acquisition and Development (GLAD) program for lots-only financing.

Pag-IBIG Fund is the government-run Home Development Mutual Fund.

GLAD provides direct financing to organized groups of members for purchasing and developing raw or partially developed land into residential lots or housing sites.

Under the proposed arrangement, beneficiaries could obtain financing for their lots while the city recovers eligible land and development costs, Millare said.

The proceeds could then be used to finance other housing projects, he added.

Millare said the city is not seeking to profit from the arrangement but to establish a revolving source of funding for future housing initiatives.

Beneficiary verification adds another hurdle

Millare said the approved subdivision survey plan covers 1,014 sublots.

A house-to-house verification by ICLHO, however, showed that only about 500 occupants matched the retrieved master list.

The other residents included heirs of original beneficiaries and people who had acquired the properties from them.

The housing office said cases involving subsequent property transfers must be brought before the Local Housing Board for evaluation.

In 2024, Millare said, the office organized beneficiaries into seven homeowners’ associations representing seven villages and formed a federation to help residents participate in efforts to secure their titles.

The office also cited community-based livelihood initiatives, including sewing, catering services, and small businesses, as part of its broader support for the resettlement community.

“We are doing our best in the city government to address our housing challenges […] Honestly, the one that is difficult to deal with is the national agency but we have to for our people,” Millare said.

In its 2025 audit report, COA recommended that the city government formulate and implement an action plan to expedite the issuance of security-of-tenure documents to project beneficiaries and facilitate the recovery of land costs and the project’s loan component.

It also called on the city to closely coordinate with NHA and formally demand compliance with the agency’s obligations and deliverables, including the preparation of the subdivision plan and the turnover of project infrastructure.

COA further urged the city government to expedite the processing and completion of all remaining post-relocation and land-tenure activities.