The National Housing Authority in Davao Region (NHA-11) turned over Wednesday 100 housing units to the indigenous people (IP) in Barangay Florida in Kapalong, Davao del Norte.

NHA-11 Manager Clemente Dayot said the “Balai to Ata to Manobo Camansi” is a collective effort of the NHA, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the local government unit (LGU), and the Ata-Manobo tribe.

Dayot said the PHP20 million housing project was initiated after the town expressed its intent to avail of NHA’s Housing Assistance Program for indigenous cultural communities and IPs last year.

“Take good care of these housing units. It is a full grant from the government, and you will not pay any amount, it is given for free,” Dayot told the recipients, even as he reminded them not to sell the houses or make them available for lease.

Dayot said the project involved the provision of financial and technical assistance to the town in coordination with the NCIP and the IP community in the development of the housing site in the IP’s ancestral domain.

“The project is designed to ensure that the IPs’ economic, social and cultural well-being through the provision of basic services of housing will be protected and promote their active participation in the whole process,” he said.

Construction of the housing units started in December last year and completed early this month. (PNA)