San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has formally turned over land ownership titles to the last batch of residents relocated out of its P740-billion Bulacan airport site.
Former residents of Sitio Kinse, Barangay Taliptip, are now in their new concrete homes in Barangay Bambang, Bulakan, in time for Christmas.
The new homeowners bought land and built new homes with SMC's financial assistance.
The company also helped them find the property they chose, construct their houses as well as secure electricity and water utilities connection.
SMC also took care of processing the transfer of ownership and titling of properties to the residents' names.
In Barangay Taliptip, the former Sitio Kinse residents did not own the site of theor stilt homes and had no access to water and electricity.
Immediately after their new homes were built, they moved in over a month ago, before typhoons devastated Luzon.
Although many of the relocated residents still rely on fishing, they look forward to the livelihood and skills training opportunities which SMC is providing under the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA).
Recently, the first 58 residents graduated from their TESDA courses in shielded metal arc welding, electrical Installation and maintenance, heavy equipment operations, dressmaking and cookery.
Already, SMC is hiring a dozen graduates of the Heavy Equipment Operator course in its ongoing dredging project in Tullahan River and in its river channel improvement project.
SMC provided a total of 277 owners of concrete and shanty houses in Barangay Taliptip with financial assistance. The company gave owners of non-concrete houses or shanties P250,000 each, while owners of concrete houses were given the appraised value of their homes, multiplied by two, plus P100,000.
SMC also provided cash assistance to 87 others who were disqualified, for a total of 364 beneficiaries.
Upon the request of Malolos Bishop Dennis Villarojo, SMC also distributed the total appraised cash value of abandoned chapels in Sitio Pariyahan, Sitio Dapdap, Sitio Bunutan, and Sitio Capol to the 242 residents of these sitios.
Although many decided to stay in Bulacan, many residents also transferred to their provinces, namely Samar, Negros, Nueva Ecija, Sorsogon, Mindoro, Masbate, Camarines Sur, Malabon, Bataan Valenzuela, Paranaque, Dumaguete, and Albay.