The government should raise the budget for relocation sites for over 37,000 households displaced by natural calamities and public infrastructure projects, said Dasmariñas City Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. According to Barzaga's press statement, funds have been set aside for the relocation from NHA’s P4.4 billion budget for next year. The figure is 22% higher than its 2010 allocation of P3.6 billion. However, the local governments that will take in the new settlers should get a higher subsidy from the national government, said Barzaga. “Once whole new communities are resettled in a city or municipality, this will invariably create greater demand for roads, water and sewerage facilities, health and sanitation services, day care centers and schools, and even law enforcement," said Barzaga, who was a three-term mayor of Dasmariñas City in Cavite. According to the lawmaker, the National Housing Authority (NHA) intends to relocate 37,632 households, or around 225,792 people at an average of six members per family. This figure includes:
over 16,000 families displaced by typhoon Ondoy; over 18,000 families residing in public lands declared as socialized housing areas, and around 2,500 families dislocated by road projects under the North Luzon Expressway Phase 2. Dasmariñas itself is the site of the Dasmariñas Resettlement Area, created under the term of former President Ferdinand Marcos. It is now known as Dasmariñas Bagong Bayan, one of the largest resettlement sites in the country. Barzaga added, “Whether the displaced families will be transferred to Rizal, Laguna, Bulacan, Cavite or elsewhere, the local governments in the relocation areas have to cope with the required extra public services and basic infrastructures." He noted that some 6,000 families occupying Sitio San Roque, a 29.1-hectare government property in North Triangle, Quezon City, resisted the demolition of their homes in large part due to complaints about their relocation site in Rodriguez, Rizal. The residents, who would be relocated to make way for the Quezon City Central Business District, have complained that their relocation site does not have regular water and electricity, and is far from their sources of livelihood and employment. There is a need for the NHA and for the local and national government to ensure that relocation sites are “valuable and integrated human settlements" with ready access to employment opportunities and education and health services, Barzaga said. - VVP, GMANews.TV 
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