PAGADIAN CITY, (PIA) – The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DSHUD)-9 has announced that homeowners affected by the road right-of-way do not need to pay for resettlement housing.
Road Right-of-Way (RROW) refers to the legal right to build, use, or access a portion of land for road construction or infrastructure purposes. It gives the government or a developer the authority to construct public roads, highways, and related structures on private or public land without legal issues.
The resettlement of families affected by road right-of-way is mandated by the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Local Government Unit (LGU) where the affected families reside.
In his recent interview in Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, DHSUD Officer In Charge – Regional Director Roland P. Eta said that there are no costs for resettlement. Once the LGU is involved in the proposed project, it will partner with the DSHUD and related agencies like National Housing Authority (NHA), National Housing Mortgage Corporation (NHMC), Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), and Pagtutulungan sa Kinabukasan: Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya, at Gobyerno (Pag-IBIG) to provide housing units.
This process is part of the implementation of the Pambansang Pabahay Pilipino Housing Program or the 4PH program of the government. The project will involve the participation of private developers, allowing the government to provide more units without requiring financial support from the national government or through the General Appropriations Act.
“Actually, resettlement walang babayaran [no payment involved]. Once the Local Government Unit affected by this proposed project partners with DSHUD or an attached resettlement agency. They will partner with us in the housing sector so that we can provide resettlement units,” Eta said.
He added that resettlement areas for affected families will depend on the floor area, housing components, and land area provided by partner developers. Since the subdivision plans are still subject to approval, the exact areas cannot be determined at this time.
To ensure resilient housing projects, a whole-of-nation approach is necessary, as it requires multi-sectoral participation from various government sectors. Partnerships will be established with government agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)to ensure environmental compliance and Department of Agrarian Reform DAR to assess the suitability of the land for use.
“We partner with other agencies like the LGU and others. These agencies will help implement their respective mandates so that the project can be affordable and become a resilient community in the future,” RD Eta emphasized. (EDT/CCP/HTB/EAM/PIA9-Zamboanga del Sur)
