Land for 500 families in Las Piñas

Some 500 families in Las Piñas City will be receiving the best gift they could ever wish for this Christmas — a land certificate from Las Piñas City Mayor Vergel "Nene" Aguilar as part of his program to develop depressed areas into subdivision-like communities.

Aguilar said the 500 families are among 10,000 families that benefited from a decree signed by President Arroyo declaring the 52-hectare Air Transportation Office (ATO) property in Barangay CAA alienable and open for distribution to actual residents.

Earlier, more than 1,500 families have already been awarded their land certificates .

Aguilar explained that the awarding of land certificates to the remaining beneficiaries is still being processed and that by year 2004, the rest of the families living in CAA will no longer be called "informal settlers" but legitimate residents of Las Piñas.

The facilitation of the awarding of 52 hectares of ATO property to the residents of Barangay CAA was realized through the effort of the Urban Poor Affairs Office of Las Piñas, National Housing Authority, Presidential Commission on Urban Poor and Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar.

Aguilar vowed to finish by year 2004 his target of 99 percent poverty reduction and alleviation and the development of all the ‘"depressed areas" into subdivision-like communities.

Rene Dumlao, head of the City’s Urban Poor Affairs Office, said since 1995, more than 20,000 economically-disadvantaged families in the city have benefited from the urban poor renewal and development program of the Aguilar administration.

CAA is the biggest barangay in the city and has a population of 70,000.