MEDIUM-RISE HOUSING. Cebu City acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia visits the unfinished Medium-Rise Building 2 in Barangay Lorega-San Miguel on Wednesday (July 25, 2024). Garcia ordered the re-bidding process of MRB-2 to speed its completion so that it can be used by April 2025 by 176 families left homeless due to easement recovery, fire, and demolition. (Photo courtesy of Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia)
CEBU CITY – Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia has instructed city engineers to speed up the completion of a medium-rise building (MRB) intended for poor families displaced by fire, demolitions, and enforcement of easement along riverbanks.
Garcia said Thursday that he ordered the re-bidding process to fast-track the completion of the second MRB that the contractor left unfinished two years ago.
He expressed disappointment over the unfinished project that caused a significant housing shortage, noting President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s wish to address the country’s housing backlog during his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Garcia inspected MRB-2 in the urban village of Lorega-San Miguel on Wednesday when he learned that the contractor halted the works on the building in 2022 even if it was 40 percent complete.
The acting mayor directed city engineers to prepare the program of works so they can expedite the re-bidding process for the completion of MRB-2 by April next year.
He said MRB-2 is a socialized housing with 176 units while MRB-1 has 100 units intended for families booted out from riverbanks or displaced by fire and demolition.
“Our administration is committed to ensuring that we provide homes to the homeless. That is the direction of our administration,” Garcia said in an interview.
The housing project has a PHP227 million budget from the city government and PHP118 million remains unused. (PNA)
