LAS Piñas City Councilor Mark Anthony Santos urged the National Housing Authority (NHA) to grant ownership of a 10-hectare land in BF International Village-CAA to about 5,000 longtime residents, many of them living in the area for over 40 years.
“For the past four decades, the residents, mostly in the CAA area, have petitioned the local and national government to dispose of the land they occupy,” Santos said on Tuesday.
The land, currently under the management of the Air Transportation Office (ATO), has been deemed suitable for residential use. The push for land disposition is in line with Presidential Declaration 427, signed in 2000 by former president Joseph Estrada, which classified 52 out of the 62-hectare CAA area as alienable and disposable.
In accordance with the declaration, residents had received certificates of ownership and were required to pay minimal amounts over 25 years. The area’s history dates back to the Japanese occupation during World War II, when it served as Nichols Number 4 airfield. It was later repurposed as a receiver station for the Civil Aeronautics Administration and renamed Barangay BF International Village through Presidential Decree 1334 in 1978.
The community had undergone significant transformation in the 1970s and 1980s under government programs such as the Zonal Improvement Program, which also granted residents tax exemptions.
Santos highlighted the urgent need for government land evaluation to address housing concerns, particularly since many residents are still paying monthly rent to the ATO. He proposed awarding the land to residents to alleviate their financial burden.
If the 10-hectare land is awarded, the city government plans to collaborate with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development to construct eight medium-rise condominium buildings under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pamilyang Pilipino program.
“This initiative not only addresses the housing needs of longtime residents but also reinforces the government’s commitment to socialized housing for Filipino families,” Santos said.
Be the first to comment