Vice President Jejomar C. Binay turned over Thursday housing units of the National Housing Authority’s Paradise Heights Housing Project in Tondo, Manila to 63 informal settler families (ISFs) living in danger areas in Metro Manila.

            “You can now sleep soundly at night in your new homes even during harsh weather," Binay, Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), told the beneficiaries.

            The Paradise Heights Housing Project is part of the P50 billion Housing Program for ISFs in Metro Manila. It is composed of nine five-storey low-rise buildings (LRBs), with a total of 970 housing units measuring 24 square meters each.

            Priority families to be relocated in Paradise Heights Housing Project are those coming from Estero de SunogApog, Manila, about two kilometers from the new housing site.

            “The in-city relocation is the government’s response to the ISFs’ request to be relocated to homes near their places of work and their children’s schools so they won’t have a hard time adjusting,” Binay said during the turnover.

            “These families will now have peace of mind knowing that their new homes will be safe from being swept away by flash floods especially during heavy rains. At the same time, they will have security of housing tenure,” the Vice President added.

            To date, 93 families, two of whom have members with disabilities, have relocated to the new LRBs.

            Based on the data provided by NHA, Metro Manila has 104,219 ISFs living in danger areas and about 60,130 of them occupy major waterways. 

            Under President Aquino’s directive, the government launched in 2011 a five-year-P50 billion housing program for ISFs living in danger areas in Metro Manila, particularly along waterways.