At least 800 housing units will soon be built as part of the city government’s effort to provide decent settlement among migrants and residents here.

Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the PHP164-million worth of housing units with National Housing Authority (NHA) general manager Marcelino Escalada in simple rites witnessed by members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod and other agency officials on Tuesday.

Under the agreement, the city government will pay the amount through a continuing allotment in 10 years.

Cuevas said the provisions on human settlement come with the program such as the concreting of various roads and upgraded social services.

“Dumadami po ang mga tao, dumadayo at dumarating at gustong manirahan sa Palayan. Paano po kung walang magandang bahay? Saan naman po titira? Magtitirik na lang ng iba’t ibang klaseng bahay (More and more people are coming and wanting to live in Palayan. What if there are no decent houses? Where will they live? They just build different types of houses),” she said in a media interview.

The influx of workers from different places was expected as more offices and businesses started to flourish in the city, the capital of Nueva Ecija, with the establishment of the Palayan City Business Hub.

Aside from private firms such as call centers, the business hub, housing several government agencies, serves as a one-stop-shop center (OSSCO) for overseas Filipino workers.

Escalada, meanwhile, lauded Cuevas for being the first local executive to initiate such an agreement, which in effect arrests the NHA’s problem on human settlement. (PNA)