Around 100 Informal Settler families (ISFs) have received their land titles through the direct sale and direct purchase program facilitated by their barangay.

“Sinisikap ng pamahalaang lungsod na mapabilis ang proseso ng pagbibigay natin ng permanenteng tahanan at maging in-city ang ating housing program kung saan ang mga mamamayan ay mananatili sa QC at hindi na mapupunta pa sa lugar na malayo sa kanilang kinagisnan at pinagkakakitaan (The city government is trying to speed up the process of providing permanent housing and make our housing program where citizens will stay in QC and no longer have to go to a place far from their origins and livelihoods),” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

The ISFs came from four homeowner’s associations in Barangay Gulod.

According to the report of the Housing Community Development and Resettlement Department (HCDRD), as of 2019, the city has been able to give security of land tenure to over 17,000 underprivileged beneficiaries through the city’s Land Acquisition and Socialized Housing program.

The city has established various land acquisition programs to ramp up and effectively address the housing needs of the residents: the direct sale and direct purchase program, and usufruct agreement for lands owned by other government agencies.

The direct sale and direct purchase program of the city government have helped 7,620 ISFs to finally own the land where they have lived for years. As of this writing, the city has already acquired a total of 36.1 hectares of land in Barangays Payatas, Bagong Silangan, Baesa, and Old Balara.

Usufruct Agreement, on the other hand, gives the city government the authority to develop properties owned by the National Housing Authority (NHA) which will benefit 6,873 ISFs.

“Iisa lang naman ang layunin ng ating lokal na pamahalaan: ang maisakatuparan ang pangarap ng bawat QCitizen na magkaroon ng maayos at disenteng tirahan sa lungsod kung saan sila pinanganak, lumaki, umibig, nagkapamilya, at naghahanap-buhay (Our local government has only one goal: to fulfill the dream of every QCitizen to have a decent home in the city where they were born, grew up, fell in love, raised a family, and earn a living),” Belmonte said.

A total of 292 direct sale beneficiaries were also able to receive their land titles and 298 QCitizen families have benefited from the community mortgage program in partnership with the national government.

The city government has also established housing units that will benefit 1,176 ISFs, and rental housing for 317 families in Barangays Greater Lagro, Payatas, Nagkaisang Nayon, and Gulod.

The local government was able to relocate at least 1,500 families from the danger zones.