The Angeles City government led by Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. on Monday has accorded P5,000 cash assistance to each of the 600 families uprooted in Sitio Balubad, Barangay Anunas, at the Mayor’s Office.
The city government allotted P3 million for the said cash assistance.
Mayor Lazatin has assured the former Sitio Balubad residents that the city government will continue to support their welfare following their eviction from their abodes in Sitio Balubad in March this year.
To recall, Mayor Lazatin has also facilitated the relocation of some 600 former residents of Sitio Balubad to Magalang town. Lazatin said the residents will be relocated in some 600 lots accorded them in Magalang town.
City Councilor and Angeles City Human Settlement and Urban Development Officer Atty. Arvin Suller explained that while the initial plan was to allocate 45 square meters per beneficiary, Mayor Lazatin expanded it to 50 square meters at the residents’ request.
“Sa katunayan po, the original plan was 45 square meters per household, but it was adjusted to 50 square meters upon the request of our beneficiaries to Mayor Lazatin,” Suller added.
Lazatin said that a 3.8 hectare site in Magalang town has been identified to accommodate approximately 600 families, as identified in the recent mapping conducted by the Angeles LGU.
Lazatin has zeroed in on the city government’s socialized housing program that will benefit the homeless residents of the city. He said no one should be denied shelter noting that he will pursue the program in the First Congressional District of Pampanga that comprises Angeles City, Mabalacat City and Magalang town.
The former Sitio Balubad residents were evicted in March this year from the 73-hectare land reclaimed by its owner, Clarkhills Properties Corporation.
It can be recalled that the Certificates of Land Ownership Awards of the Sitio Balubad residents were cancelled by the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board before the Clarkhills management took control of the said property.
Each beneficiary in the relocation site in Magalang town will receive a 50-square-meter lot, allowing them to finally own their own land, according to Mayor Lazatin. The city government had been preparing relocation process of the affected families.
“I have never abandoned the residents of Sitio Balubad and will continue to support them as long as I can,” Lazatin said.
