‘City of angels’ developing as migration, housing zone

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga — This so-called “City of Angels” is opening its arms to families often displaced by floods and other calamities in Central Luzon with resettlement housing inaugurated last week as part of a 30-year plan to develop the city into a migration zone.

“In thirty years time, Angeles will become a major migration zone for residents of Central Luzon. We owe that to our geographical advantage, and of course, the boom of businesses in the city,” said Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan.

Last Wednesday, the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the city government inaugurated a new resettlement housing project built for victims of recent calamities in the city.

Over 500 informal settlers and displaced families from 13 barangays in the city will benefit from the said project.

The recent project is the third resettlement site to be developed in this city.

“The resettlement project is a step towards the right direction for providing proper, socialized housing for our constituents which will eventually allow us to accommodate more people in the future,” Pamintuan said.

He believes resettlement projects are an indication of things to come for the city, which can be a safe place to live for other residents who live in danger zones prone to flooding and landslides throughout Region 3.

The mayor said he welcomes more people as part of his constituency because it means more taxes for the city, which will then fuel the local government to do more in terms of improving healthcare, education and peace and order in Angeles.

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Vicky Vega-Cabigting emphasized her hope that the residents would be responsible enough to take care of these houses and not to sell them, which she said has been a common practice of other residents living in resettlement areas in different parts of the country.

Vega-Cabigting also shares the optimism of the mayor in looking to the future and providing proper and affordable housing to the Angeleños. During his speech, former Local Urban Poor and Housing officer and now councilor Amos Rivera explained how the families would further benefit from this project with the system they have set up.

“In this 3.24 hectare area, we will see the rise of 507 units with 40 square meters average lot size each – all of which are loftable. Additionally, beneficiaries will only be required to pay their monthly amortization after two years,” Rivera said.

The average cost of constructing one housing unit is about P240,000 and will be clustered in row-type modules, complete with electrical, water supply and drainage system.