DHSUD: 684 informal settler families secure land rights

MANILA, Philippines — Up to 684 informal settler families have secured the rights to land they have been occupying for decades. Reviving the distribution of land titles covered by various presidential proclamations, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has issued certificates of lot award and certificates of entitlement to beneficiaries of the expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino program. The initial batch of beneficiaries is comprised of 218 families in Los Baños, Laguna; 213 in Jaro, Iloilo City; 195 in Lucena City, Quezon, and 58 in Narra, Palawan. Additional awarding activities are expected in the coming months. “Under the expanded program, we are giving assurance to families waiting to become owners of the land they’ve been living on,” Housing Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling said. Between 2019 and 2022, only 24 beneficiaries received their land tenure documents due to pandemic-related disruptions and shifting government priorities, the DHSUD said. Under Aliling’s tenure, the DHSUD said the processing was accelerated, allowing beneficiaries to receive their certificates in less than a year.