Bizman to copy Gatchalian's housing project

ABUYOG, LEYTE, Philippines — A businessman from this town in Leyte, who admitted planning to run for public office here in the 2013 elections, revealed that he would focus his platform on housing projects for the poor or the informal settlers that have sprouted in the town’s coastal area.

Noel Rebucas, an Abuyognon who made his fortune in real estate business in Metro Manila, said it is now time for somebody to do something better for his town, and that he can do it only if he comes home to seek for a seat in the municipal government.

Rebucas said that foremost among his plans is to provide decent housing to informal settlers in Abuyog, where he found during his recent vacation there to be growing in numbers, allegedly without any attempt from the government to address this before it goes awry in the future.

The businessman, who came from humble beginnings in farming a tenanted lot years ago in Abuyog, said he would replicate the Disiplina Village, a housing project of Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian.

Vice President Jejomar Binay recently inaugurated 12 housing buildings for the victims of typhoon Ondoy and lauded the uniqueness of this Gatchalian concept, which was made possible via public-private partnership, said Rebucas, adding that the mayor was able to get funding from the private sector for the project.

The housing buildings in the village now totals to 15 with 41 more being built to accommodate 900 families, said Rebucas who was impressed much with the project that he planned to have it done in his hometown of Abuyog once he becomes councilor there.

Rebucas said he would copy Gatchalian as a young government official who has better ideas transformed into reality by political will and sincerity in serving his constituents. Gatchalian can be a remarkable national leader, he said.

Binay earlier cited Gatchalian’s concept of Disiplina Village, the first initiative in the country to address the devastating impact of typhoon Ondoy, and the first mayor to fight for “in-city relocation” of displaced families.

Gatchalian, for his part, said he recognized the impact of displacement only to be worsened by off-city relocation projects, which only tend to disrupt the living condition of beneficiaries instead of improving them.

“Informal settlers are being uprooted with scarce options to livelihood, with other problems commonly being encountered, such as water, sanitation, healthcare and education facilities and these experiences force them to return to or near their previous area of residence and become informal settlers again,” Rebucas quoted Gatchalian as saying.

Rebucas agreed that the displaced families only want relocation sites near their workplaces, and he admired Gatchalian for such sensitivity to the needs of the poor and giving the latter what they wanted. “After all, what is the housing project for the poor for?” he said. —Contributed Article