The government's housing program got a big boost after the Home Development Mutual Fund, or the Pag-IBIG Fund, has allocated P250 billion to address the 6.5 million housing backlog in the country.
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said the huge 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 allocation of P250 billion was approved during a meeting of the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees headed by Acuzar.
"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.
The government's housing program is intended for informal settler families and those in the low income bracket.
Part of the program is the building of in-city, on-site housing units in order to ensure that the beneficiaries would keep their jobs in the areas where they live.
In the past, several housing units were abandoned as the beneficiaries would choose to go back to the city as they complained that the location of the housing units are too far from their work places, which means that they have to shell out more money for transportation.
Acuzar earlier said that the DHSUD needs at least P36 billion a year to realize 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.