After waiting for more than a decade, some 200 urban poor families at the National Government Center were finally given their land titles on Friday as a result of the oversight committee hearings spearheaded by Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Arroyo personally handed over the land titles to the families in a ceremony at the House of Representatives Social Hall. She was accompanied by outgoing QC Rep. Winnie Castelo and wife, incoming QC Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo.
In a speech during the awarding, Arroyo informed the beneficiaries that the work for the land titling of the remaining 23,000 beneficiaries at the NGC is not yet done because the government has yet to approve the P350-million funding needed to buy the remaining 129 hectares in the East and West sides and for the reblocking of the existing structures in the east side.
She said although the P350 million was part of the allocation vetoed in the 2019 budget, Arroyo said she had asked Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to allocate the said amount from the unused 2018 budget so that the government can start the reblocking and acquiring the land from their owners to be distributed to the qualified occupants.
She said President Rodrigo Duterte earlier signed a joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives allowing any unused budget in 2018 to be carried over to be used in 2019.
She added the economic team had assured her that they will consider her request based on the available funds and if the project is “implementation ready.”
Meanwhile, the Castelo couple expressed their gratitude to Arroyo for spearheading the awarding of titles in such a short period as they assured their constituents that all qualified beneficiaries will eventually have their own titles.
Around 30,000 urban poor families in NGC, Barangay Holy Spirit in Quezon City were given the chance in 2003 by then President Arroyo to acquire their own land under of RA 9207 (National Government Center Housing and Land Utilization Act of 2003). While many of them had already been awarded their own titles, some problems still exist particularly reports of land-grabbing and failure in the reblocking of some properties. Maricel V. Cruz
This led her to create an Oversight Committee to monitor the implementation of RA 9207, a law she signed when she was President in 2003, to make sure that the law is properly implemented.
NGC is divided into two sides, west side which has 184 hectares while the east side has 238 hectares.
During the hearing, it was established that while 80 percent of the beneficiaries in the West side had been awarded their titles, 20 percent remain without their titles because of lack of funding from the DPWH. On the east side, titles have yet to be issued because of failure to reblock the lots also due to lack of funding.
When she asked the representative of the DPWH on the funding requirements, as provided by law, she was told that no funding was allocated for the NGC acquisition and reblocking. On the request of the DPWH, Arroyo had allotted P350 million for the land acquisition and reblocking requirements at the NGC but the same was vetoed.