Around 1,500 families of Barangay Payatas in Quezon City can now acquire the land they have been living in for four decades.
Mayor Joy Belmonte signed the Deed of Conditional Sale formally acquiring the 157 parcels of land previously owned by Landbank.
Ramawil 9.6 Homeowners Association Inc. president Razul Janoras expressed his gratitude to the city mayor who pledged to acquire the land two years ago for its residents.
“At long last, sa hinaba-haba ng panahon, kay Mayor Joy Belmonte lang pala matutupad ang aming pinapangarap na lupa (And long last, for a long time, only Mayor Joy Belmonte will fulfill our dream),” Janoras said.
Mayor Belmonte thanked Landbank of the Philippines, as well as the Sangguniang Panlungsod for passing City Resolution SP 8094-S-2020, giving her the authority to acquire through negotiated sale the parcels of land.
City Administrator Michael Alimurung, HCDRD, and the City Appraisal Committee were able to convince Landbank to settle the amount of the property at P209,244,000.00 which is lower than the original offer by Landbank of P257,070,000.00.
“Malaki po ang pasasalamat namin sa Landbank dahil you agreed to enter into negotiations with the city government para maibigay sa tao ang matagal na nilang tinitirahan na lupa (We are very grateful to Landbank because they agreed to enter into negotiations with the city government to give people the land they have been living on for a long time),” Mayor Belmonte said.
“Wala akong ibang ninanais kundi ang makatulong na makamit ang mga ipinaglalaban ng mga tao sa Quezon City (I have no other desire but to help achieve what the people of Quezon City are fighting for),” she added.
The city government will be able to award the land to 1,518 families.
The beneficiaries will pay the city government for the land they are occupying thru a direct sale program at a cost of P3,000.00 per square meter.