Olongapo receives P7-M grant from Australia

OLONGAPO CITY — As part of its continuing effort to be one of the most progressive cities in the country, the city of Olongapo was recently chosen to be the pioneer recipient of a P7 million grant from the Australian government.

This was announced recently by Olongapo City Mayor James "Bong" Gordon Jr. after having signed a memorandum of agreement with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi, Australia Aid (AusAID) Senior Program Officer Erika Geronimo and Land Equity International (LEI) Team Leader Ian Loyd.

Gordon said that Olongapo City was chosen as the pioneer local government unit (LGU) to implement a Land Administration and Management Program (LAMP) under the Innovation Support fund (ISF) coming from AusAID.

The ISF is a grant awarded to LGUs to help bolster their land management systems and at the same time help in the proper assessment of real estate property in the area.

The mayor said that they are accepting this grant for the further development of the city. "Olongapo is almost as big as Singapore, yet we have the advantages of having mountainous regions complemented by a nice view of the bay and that only 20 percent of Olongapo’s total area is purely residential."

Under his administration, Gordon envisions a Unified Land Information System that will help raise the confidence of the land market in Olongapo.

Loyd shared that the ISF Program Grant will last for two years and enjoined Olongapo city officials to help in the success of the program. — Bebot Sison Jr.