GENERAL SANTOS CITY – At least 100 low-income families will benefit from a PHP25-million housing project supported by the National Housing Authority (NHA) that is expected to open next year in Tampakan town, South Cotabato province.

Tampakan Mayor Leonard Escobillo said the preparatory works formally commenced on Friday for the low-cost housing project in a 2.5-hectare site in Purok Medalla Milagrosa, Barangay Poblacion.

Escobillo said the project will mainly benefit informal settlers requiring relocation and resettlement in their municipality.

A joint undertaking of the NHA and the municipal government, he said the housing complex will feature 100 housing units.

“These will be awarded to qualified families based on the criteria set by the program,” the mayor said in a statement.

Dubbed Tampakan Goldenville Housing Project, Escobillo said the NHA approved its funding under the Resettlement Housing Program for Informal Settler Families.

He said the target beneficiaries are families residing in danger areas and public places and those whose houses had been destroyed or damaged by calamities and disasters and require relocation to safe areas.

Also eligible are families displaced or to be displaced due to government infrastructure projects, families that are subject of court orders for demolition or eviction, and those qualified as socialized housing beneficiaries, he said.

The mayor said they lobbied for the implementation of the project this year despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“We will continue to provide the basic needs of our constituents and (for those qualified) to have a decent abode,” he said during the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday morning. (PNA)