Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada on Monday awarded land certificates to 147 families in Manila under the Land for the Landless program.
The beneficiaries were longtime occupants and owners of the houses standing on the lot they applied for. They were given 20 years to pay the low-cost monthly installments.
The distribution of land tiles started in 2013 since Mayor Estrada assumed the mayoralty post, benefiting more than 200 poor families in Manila.
On Sept. 16, 2013, Estrada awarded land certificates to 77 residents of Manila; on April 14, 2014, another 69 beneficiaries were given land certificates, while in 2015, 65 poor families received their land certificates and another 63 families received the titles last February 2018.
Under the project, the lot awardees should have the capacity to pay and have no landholdings elsewhere. Within two years from the awarding of the lot, the beneficiaries should occupy the area and vacate the premises not included in the award.
“This is the legal proof that you are the sole owner of the lots awarded to you. This is also the realization of your dreams to have a land you can call your own,” the Manila mayor said during the awarding ceremony at City Hall’s Bulwagang Villegas.
The legal document specifies the lot area given to each beneficiary as well as the terms and conditions of the award.
The lot awarded cannot be sold or rented for 20 years without the written consent of the Office of the Mayor, and it should be used for residential purposes only.
Estrada vowed to continue the program aimed to uplift the lives of hundreds of families in Manila considered as poorest of the poor.
“In my first year in the office, I already delivered my promise to help the poor families and this is not the end but the beginning of endless help,” Estrada said.
Estrada said that it is not only through the awarding of land titles that would help Manilenos but through the implementation of various programs, building of hospitals, schools, and creation of jobs.
He also appealed to presidents of homeowners association to support his program to improve Manila’s environment.
Estrada congratulated all the awardees and vowed to continue extending assistance to all Manilenos and bring back the “Glory of Manila.”
