A ‘Dubai’ rising in the Philippines?

Manila: A socialised shelter project  will soon rise in Manila’s urban poor village of Baseco that will incorporate energy efficient technologies and practical housing solutions.

The P44.5-million (Dh3.43 million) project will be erected in a 3.5-hectare foreshore estate in Sitio (sub-village) named “Dubai” in the Bataan Shipyard Engineering Company (Baseco) compound, Secretary

Mel Senen Sarmiento of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.

Baseco had long suffered from frequent massive fires that displaced thousands. Just this week, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada led the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new housing development project in Sitio Dubai.

According to Manila City engineer Roberto Bernardo, a micro-to medium-rise building will soon rise in the area to provide permanent settlement to the 225 beneficiary-families under the DILG’s Assistance to Informal Settler Families (ISF) programme.

The housing units will be offered free to the city’s “poorest of the poor.”

Baseco is an iconic place in Manila which represents the yawning rich-poor gap in the Philippines -- though it also symbolises hope due to the many do-gooders who try to make lives easier for its poor residents.

Due to the light materials used and lack of proper planning, fires are common in Baseco, often gutting several homes, like this one in 2011 -- which was reportedly started by a quarelling couple. 

Each Dubai row house will have a “green building design” to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to Bernardo.

It was unclear why the area has been referred to as “Dubai,” but the city has been engrained in the consciousness of Filipinos as synonymous with hardwork, sacrifice and prosperity.