Over 15K housing units needed in Iloilo City

By John Noel E. Herrera

The Iloilo City Government needs to develop many housing projects for its residents, as Mayor Jerry P. Trenas said that the city faces more than 15,000-housing-unit backlogs.

Trenas said the city already needed around 2,700 housing units to relocate informal settlers on the banks of the Jaro and Batiano rivers and in Barangay San Pedro alone.

“So sa dira pa lang, kadaku na sang kinahanglan ta (housing units),” the mayor said.

Trenas also emphasized during the groundbreaking for the Uswag Residential Complex in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro, on Sept 30, 2022, that the housing program of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is a big help to the city government’s problem of reducing the backlog.

The ceremony was graced by DHSUD secretary Jose Rizalino “Jerry” Acuzar, Trenas, Iloilo City Cong. Julienne Baronda, Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, and other city officials.

Acuzar revealed during the program that the Philippines needs 6.5 million housing units and the national government needs over P6 trillion to fund these houses.

He added that partnerships between the national government and different local government units (LGUs), as well as the private sectors are important to accomplish the project.

Trenas said that to further address the city’s backlogs in housing, the city government is currently procuring additional eight hectares of land in Barangay Tacas, Jaro and Barangay Baluarte, Molo to be developed as other possible relocation sites.

Meanwhile, Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (ICUPAO) chief Roy Firmeza said that an initial two 10-storey buildings with 700 housing units will rise on the three-hectare site under the DHSUD housing program.

It is also on top of the four 5-storey buildings with 240 units that will be built on the site under the National Housing Authority (NHA) housing program.

Firmeza also noted that they can further generate up to 3,700 condo units on the said three-hectare site if they continue adopting the medium-rise building (MRB) standard of DHSUD.

Acuzar clarified that the project will be managed by the city government, and it is up to the local government unit to identify the beneficiaries of the housing project.