MANILA, (PNA) — The city government of Pasay recently relocated 14 informal settler families from Maricaban to give way to the site development of the new Corazon C. Aquino National High School.
Pasay Mayor Antonino Calixto said that this is the second batch and they were 14 families who were occupying the road right-of–way of the new high school site where a four-storey school building is currently being constructed.
Calixto, together with Pasay Rep. Emi Rubiano–Calixto, officially broke ground on the school site last December 17 of last year.
He said that the relocation of the first batch of 21 informal settler families displaced by the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway Project Phase II last August 16.
Mayor Calixto said that the affected families voluntary left their homes and have agreed to be relocated to the National Housing Authority (NHA) housing project in Aguado, Trece Martires in Cavite.
The local chief executive also extended P5,000 financial assistance to each family while the NHA provided their new homes where they are now staying for free. They will only start paying the monthly rental of P200 after a year of residence in Cavite.
“The City Government is prioritizing the creation of new schools and the construction of new school buildings like what we are doing in the Corazon C. Aquino National High School and education-related projects. Ako po ay naniniwala na ang edukasyon ay nagbibigay ng patas na pagkakataon para sa lahat upang maiangat at magbago ang kanilang buhay,” he said.
In naming the school after former President Aquino, he said:“President Cory has been an icon of nationalism and we would like to instill the same love for the country that she exemplified on our students, hence, we named this new school after her.”
For his part, Pasay City Urban Development and Housing Office chief Paul Vega said that the relocation of 14 families or 50 individuals proceeded smoothly last Friday.
“The relocation occurred without any opposition of any sort from the affected families” Vega said as he attributed the peaceful relocation to the close coordination of the Pasay City Government and the NHA with the affected families.
Vega said that family members were peacefully packing their belongings and some even helped in dismantling their homes “since they were already informed that they will be relocated earlier and they have already agreed and signed the papers without any objection”.
Pasay City Spokesman Jonathan Malaya said that the City Government entered into an agreement with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to use the MIAA’s land for the creation of the new school.
Recognizing the need to provide accessible education to the residents of Pasay City, MIAA agreed to allow the Pasay City Government use the land without payment for the period of 25 years provided that MIAA retains ownership of the land.
Malaya said that the City Government identified the land to be the most suitable site for the city’s new high school.
He said that another series of relocation will be implemented by the City Government next month when informal settlers families living in creeks and esteros and other danger zones will be relocated.
“On behalf of Mayor Calixto, I would like to thank the NHA, the MIAA and all the people who made the project possible. The students who will study here will be one step closer of reaching their dreams, and we can say that we in our own way have made that possible,” he added.