More than 1,000 families in Iloilo, Laguna and Quezon province will be given the best Christmas gift this December from the national government.

And certainly, it is not a P500 worth noche buena items but Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) for land covered by Presidential Proclamations.

Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling said the COEs will end the decades-long wait of the prospective beneficiaries as the sites that will be given to them were declared suitable for socialized housing.

The awarding covers residential lands in Los Baños, Laguna; Lucena City, Quezon; and Jaro, Iloilo City through Presidential Proclamation Nos. 550, 436 and 1538, respectively.

Aliling underscored that the distribution of COEs advances the national government's commitment to utilize idle public lands for public housing.

“We will do what we can to expedite the awarding of COEs in accordance with existing policies. We want to give our fellow Filipino the land tenure security they have long been waiting for,” said Aliling.

In Los Baños, Laguna, a total of 764 beneficiaries from Barangays Lalakay, Bambang and Timugan have been cleared following the completion of the Local Inter-Agency Committee (LIAC) validation.

The COEs are set to be awarded in three batches beginning December 2025 through early 2026.

In Jaro, Iloilo, preparations are now ongoing for the awarding of COEs to 216 qualified families during the Yuletide Season.

In Lucena City, the LIAC has already completed the validation process for 185 beneficiaries, and the awarding is scheduled in January 2026.

This timeline, according to Aliling, allows final verification, beneficiary confirmation, and coordination with local authorities to ensure accuracy and transparency.

He assured the public that the DHSUD will continue working closely with concerned local governments and national agencies to guarantee the smooth distribution of COEs under Presidential Proclamations in the months ahead.