By LITO RULONA
Correspondent
MAYOR Oscar Moreno would send a letter to the city council in order to appeal that it give city hall the green light to buy a property in Barangay Lumbia so as to provide housing units to some 722 families who survived typhoon Sendong through a Japanese grant.
Engr. Ermin Stan Pimentel, a city hall consultant on shelter and housing development, said Moreno has instructed him to deliver the letter of appeal to the city council when it resumes its session on Jan. 4, 2016.
Pimentel said the City Shelter and Housing Development Task Force tried to complete the requirements needed but they failed to beat the Dec. 1 deadline because the city council did not give the land purchase the go-ahead.
“After the city council refused to authorize the signing of the absolute deed of sale, a technical panel from the central office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development came over to evaluate. They were disgusted over the city council’s inaction,” he said.
He said the technical team required at least five hectares, including a site for two multi-purpose buildings.
“Sa pagka-karon wala kita’y available nga ingon ana nga lote ang gidak-on. Naa kita apan mabulag ang 722 ka mga balay. The city should provide enough area for the construction of the Japan Non Project Grant Aid (JNPGA),” Pimentel said.
The Japanese government and DSWD has required city hall to provide a property before the shelter project could be carried out.
But Pimentel said the city council was making things difficult. “Gibalibaran sab sila. Kada adto didto sa city council for follow-up, lain-lain ang requirements nga gipangayo like a new survey and a three-year appraisal of the lot.”
Pimentel said Moreno has appeaked to the technical team to extend the deadline because city hall really wants to pursue the project.
Councilor Leon Gan, chairman of the city council’s committee on urban poor, said the local legislature favors the relocation of the Sendong survivors but he stressed out that laws must be followed in the purchase of the Lumbia property.
Gan said, “Kaming tanan diha city council uyon nga mopalit kita og yuta for the relocation site pero hangtud karon wala pa ma’y presyo nga gihatag ni Mayor Oscar Moreno kung pila gyud ang gamiton nga kantidad.”
He said the city council cannot approve an authorization without details like exactly how much funds would be spent by the local government for the undertaking.
Gan said an initial evaluation showed that the project costs were too much for a socialized housing project.
“Kinahanglan nga ang kantidad angayan pud sa maong dapit. That is the reason that we need an updated appraisal of the lot,” he said.
He said Moreno asked for the approval of P265 per square meter but the latest appraisal from the City Assessor’s Office valued the Lumbia property at only P80 to P180 per square meter.
“We need verification or an investigation para ma-klaro gyud kung kinsa ang nagsulti sa matuod. Dili na kita anang overpriced purchase,” Gan said.
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