The Local Housing Board chaired by Mayor Beng Climaco on Monday formally approved the Local Shelter Plan, a 5-year plan that serves as the blueprint or guidelines of the City Government in addressing the housing blacklog which now stands at 20,971.

In terms of land property, the city has a backlog of 163 hectares of land that will serve as resettlement and relocation sites.

Mayor Climaco convened the Housing Board Monday morning at the City Hall conference room to tackle the provisions of the shelter plan which has been a subject of a series of meetings/ consultations with concerned groups and agencies.

“Little by little the city government is trying to address our backlog in housing and shelter for our people in need,” the mayor told the press briefing Monday in City Hall.

The plan identifies areas in the city for relocation, community mortgage program, land tenural assistance program, and for joint venture agreement, which is a local government tie up with the national government housing projects. It also covers areas for housing programs to be undertaken by non-government organizations.

Climaco said the shelter plan will be presented to the City Development Council which will convene Tuesday morning for approval and funding allocation. From the CDC, the document will be forwarded to the City Council.

The shelter plan has a provision for land banking, which the city chief executive herself identified as one of her priorities for the next three years of her administration.  (Sheila Covarrubias)