Committed to providing secured and liveable homes for the Pamilyang Valenzuelano, the City Government of Valenzuela, in partnership with the Social Housing and Finance Corporation (SFHC), conducted the blessing and turnover ceremonies of housing units under the Laon CMP Vertical Housing Project - Phase I for the Laon beneficiaries, Barangay Veinte Reales, December 13, 2023.

A total of 192 housing units within 4 buildings of the Laon Community Mortgage Program (CMP) Vertical Housing Project were turned over to the Laon HOA Federation, Inc. this morning. Mayor WES Gatchalian, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary REX Gatchalian, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Undersecretary Lyle Filomeon Pasco, Social Housing and Finance Corporation (SHFC) President Federico Laxa, the city officials, and the SK and barangay officials of Veinte Reales led the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Rendered ready for occupancy, these units were under the partial completion of the housing project’s Phase I; which will be entrusted to families of Laon, Barangay Veinte Reales under a mortgage agreement.

Following the turnover of the housing units was the groundbreaking and capsule-laying ceremony for the CMP Vertical Housing Project - Phase II and 3S Center Veinte Reales. This marks the beginning of these projects in the pipeline designed to further develop Barangay Veinte Reales, especially in terms of housing and availability of social services.

Adjacent to the Laon Housing Project was the soon-to-rise 3S Center Veinte Reales, a 2,490-square-meter building that will feature the following facilities: Barangay Hall, Police Sub-station, Daycare Center, Mega Health Station, HOA office, Basketball Court, among others. On the other side, the construction of the Phase II of the housing project will begin in the 4th quarter of December this year. This phase shall house 11 buildings and 528 units.

In his message, DSWD Secretary REX Gatchalian shared the rigorous journey of the Laon Housing Project during his mayoral term, in which the project was first initialized. According to him, this project takes pride in three innovations: firstly, the Laon community harbors two (2) Home Owner's Associations (Laon HOA & Cheng Ville HOA); secondly, there are two sizes of housing units (36 sq.m. & 42 sq.m); and lastly, the local government and community of Laon will jointly handle the estate management.

Meanwhile, Mayor WES Gatchalian also expressed his hopeful vision of continuing Phase II of the Laon CMP Vertical Housing Project. “[Sa tagumpay ng Phase I] sa tulong ng SHFC, ng DHSUD, at pagtutulungan ng national at local, at siyempre ng Home Owners’ Association; natupad na ang pangarap ng ating mga kababayan dito sa Veinte Reales. At hindi puwedeng hindi tumuloy ito.”

For a brief background, the residents of Laon have been living in hazard over the years due to its flood and fire-prone environment. On account of its poor living conditions, the Office of the Building Official (OBO) declared the houses in Laon as illegal and dangerous structures, which urged the City to initiate the housing project. The City Government of Valenzuela partnered with the Social Housing and Finance Corporation (SHFC) through its Vertical Community Mortgage Program (CMP) in implementing the project, wherein the latter has allocated PhP 300 Million initial budget for Phase 1. The construction of the buildings started last May 2022.

The entire housing project spans over a 6-hectare lot in Laon, Barangay Veinte Reales, and is slated to undergo 3 phases. Upon its completion, a total of thirty-four (34) buildings comprised of one thousand and six hundred thirty-two (1,632) housing units were expected to rise. 

Also witnessing the turnover ceremony were Vice Mayor Lorie Natividad-Borja, Councilors Marlon Alejandrino & Ricarr Enriquez, DHSUD Project Development Officer Atty. Norman Jacinto Doral, PSCUP Usec. Elpidio Jordan, Jr., Laon HOA & Cheng Ville HOA officers and beneficiaries, Mobilizer Noel Hizon of SHARE Foundation, and the MERALCO & Maynilad staff.

Prioritizing a healthy and progressive community, the city of Valenzuela sought out this housing project as a means of providing the residents of Laon an opportunity to start over their lives by having safe, decent, and comfortable homes. Bagong bahay, Bagong buhay!

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