By RUBY P. SILUBRICO
ILOILO City — Policemen and soldiers in Panay Island who do not have houses will soon have their own.
A total of 3,620 houses were being built for them in Barangay Poblacion, Santa Barbara and Barangay Cruz, Barotac Nuevo, both in Iloilo, and Barangay Lonoy, Roxas City in Capiz.
Chief Superintendent Josephus Angan, regional police director, said policemen and soldiers, who are at the frontlines in ensuring national security, deserve decent shelters for themselves and their families.
“I firmly believe that decent shelter is one of the basic needs of a law enforcer, whose mandate is to protect the rights, safety and security of the citizenry,” Angan stressed.
Each unit will cover a lot area of 40 square meters and has a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, said Inspector Shella Mae Sangrines, public information officer of Police Regional Office 6 in Camp Delgado here.
“The housing project aims to provide decent shelter and improve the quality of life of our men in uniform,” Sangrines said.
A total of P4.2 billion has been allocated for the national government project.
“This is part of the transformation program of the Philippine National Police under the Police Patrol Plan,” said Sangrines.
Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel may now apply to acquire the housing units, she said.
Nationwide, 20,000 house-and-lot packages will be built for soldiers, policemen and other uniformed personnel.
To benefit from the project are personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Bureau of Corrections./PN