Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar ordered all the key shelter agencies (KSAs) to implement moratorium on the housing monthly amortization of their members as a form of assistance following the onslaught of severe tropical storm “Kristine”.
The DHSUD will leave it to the key shelter agencies as to how the order will be implemented, and Acuzar said the main intention is to provide relief to typhoon victims who have outstanding amortization obligations.
The order, he said, was directed to the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund, the National Housing Authority (NHA), Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC).
“This is a small assistance that we in the DHSUD could provide to the typhoon victims. We hope that this will somehow alleviate what they are now facing,” said Acuzar.
Over 2.5 million Filipinos were affected as a result of the widespread flooding caused by the weather disturbance, the floodwater damaged some portions of their houses, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
A number of Filipinos also lost their homes due to the strong winds and landslides.
Acuzar said the DHSUD is also working closely with typhoon-affected local government units (LGUs) for the speedy processing of families who may qualify to the Department's Integrated Disaster Shelter Assistance Program (IDSAP).
Under IDSAP, the DHSUD is providing P30,000 unconditional cash assistance to those whose houses were totally damaged while P10,000 for those with partially damaged.