Mayor Evelio Leonardia and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran led the distribution of certificates of lot awards to 51 Bacolodnons at the Progreso Village in Barangay Vista Alegre over the weekend.
Progreso Village is an 89-hectare relocation site acquired by the Bacolod City government, a press release from the Bacolod Public Information Office said Monday, October 18.
Bacolod Housing Authority head Ma. Victoria Parreñas said the beneficiaries are informal settlers of the city, adding that each recipient-family received a 64-square-meter lot.
Leonardia told the new lot owners to protect the property given them. “Do not give this away,” he said.
“The paper you received is not just any letter. It is a symbol that you will have your own land. This is yours,” the mayor added.
Leonardia said that when his administration started the relocation site, he and other city officials even faced administrative cases despite their initiative to help the less fortunate.
But they persisted and eventually all the cases related to the project were dismissed, he pointed out.
“We did our best so that the Progreso Village will materialize because many city dwellers do not have residential lots of their own. Now you have a lot to transfer to. I dream that what we have here will be as good as any other subdivision,” the mayor continued.
Bacolod City’s Progreso Village, Parreñas explained, is one of the biggest relocation sites in the country today.
It was established by the Leonardia administration in 1996 to give informal settlers a home to call their own. “It will also give them a sense of dignity,” he added.
The village was designed for about 6,500 households. It has basic facilities that include primary and secondary schools, the press release said.*