I'm Poor, Give Me A House!

The Quezon City local government is looking at purchasing a 34-hectare lot in Montalban, Rizal to accommodate about 10,731 informal settler families living in or near the city's identified danger zones.  Mayor Herbert Bautista, with authority from the QC Council to negotiate for the purchase and acquisition of the property, has signed a Contract To Sell (CTS) with the Arce Family, who owns the land.  The land, valued at P550 per sq.m., can be used to develop 5,100 lots with an area of 40 sq.m. each.

I guess the real question now is, will there ever be an end to this dilemma?  As long as our rural areas continue to remain under-developed or undeveloped, our countryside fellowmen will continue to seek greener pastures in Metro Manila, adding to the burgeoning pollution and over-population, not to mention the problem with land-usurpation and illegal occupation woes of legitimate land owners.  Although I laud the QC local government for this initiative, this is at most a band-aid solution to the squatting problem.  We must develop the whole country, not just the capital.  That way, more people will be inclined to stay where they are.


Let's move to the country,
Jon