MANILA – The housing program of the government received a significant boost as the Home Development Mutual Fund, or the Pag-IBIG Fund, has allotted P250 billion to address the country’s 6.5 million housing backlog.
According to Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar, the big fund allocation, along with the commitment of support of several financial institutions and local government units (LGUs), puts the goal of building one million housing units every year on the right track.
The allotment of P250 billion was agreed during a meeting presided over by Acuzar of the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.
“This is a huge boost to our President’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program –a giant step towards realizing the dream of every Filipino family to have decent, safe and affordable shelters,” Acuzar said.
Informal settler families and those in the low income bracket are the target group of the government’s housing program.
The program includes the construction of in-city, on-site housing units to guarantee that beneficiaries maintain employment in their home communities.
Previously, several housing units were abandoned because beneficiaries preferred to return to the city since the housing units were too far from their workplaces, requiring them to pay extra money for transportation.
Earlier, Acuzar stated that the DHSUD needs at least P36 billion a year to achieve the one million housing units goal every year.
“With the assured funding support from Pag-IBIG Fund, I am very very optimistic of the success of the program which is designed to address the country’s housing backlog pegged at more than 6.5 million,” said Acuzar.
