MORE THAN 1,000 unoccupied housing units in Barangay Cruz, Barotac Nuevo built by the National Housing Authority (NHA) are up for redistribution, according to Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito. “A total of 60,000 units were built in the country for P12 billion. But 57,000 are still unoccupied. So we will redistribute them, including (the 1,050) here in Barotac Nuevo,” Mr. Ejercito, chair of the Senate committee on housing, said during a visit to the site last week. The NHA projects were built for uniformed personnel, including the military, police, firefighters, and jail officers. He said the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed a joint resolution authorizing the NHA to redistribute the unoccupied units to qualified beneficiaries and other willing buyers. NHA will be collecting a monthly amortization of P200 to P300, which will be used to build more houses. At the same time, Mr. Ejercito said lawmakers are pushing for reforms in government housing projects, such as increasing the property space to 40 square meters (sqm) per unit from 24 sqm. “We want to make the housing units more acceptable to our men in uniform,” he said. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

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