Having a home of your own means having a place to come back to, build a life in, and share with the people who matter. For many working families, making that a reality can begin with access to affordable housing and financing. Through partnerships among local governments, housing agencies such as Pag-IBIG Fund and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), and private developers like Ayala Land, more people can gain access to opportunities for homeownership. In Naga City, that effort is taking shape through BellaVita, Ayala Land’s socialized housing arm, as it begins turning over homes to qualified city government employees.

Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo led the August 18 turnover ceremony, joined by Pag-IBIG Fund President and CEO Marilene Acosta, Social Housing Finance Corporation President and CEO Frederico Laxa, DHSUD Assistant Secretary Engr. Johnson Domingo, and Ayala Land Group Head of Strategic Growth and New Ventures and Chief Sustainability Officer Robert S. Lao, along with representatives from the Naga City Housing and Settlements Development Office.

The ceremony marked the first phase of the program, with 110 qualified employee-buyers receiving their keys from the 1,011 homes covered by the agreement at BellaVita Naga in Barangay Pacol. The units in this initial batch are ready for occupancy, with water and electricity connections in place and road infrastructure completed.

Under the agreement, BellaVita Land Corp. provides the homes, while the City Government of Naga helps qualified employees join the program and coordinates with Pag-IBIG Fund. Employees then purchase their units through Pag-IBIG housing loans, bringing together the developer, local government, and financing agency in one housing program.

Mayor Robredo expressed her gratitude for the housing program and the opportunity it provides to city employees. "Today, we are awarding the house keys to 110 beneficiaries. Ang pinaka maganda dito sa BellaVita, fully developed na ‘yung buong village. Meron ng multi-purpose hall, yari na ‘yung mga bahay. Malaking pasasalamat po kami sa BellaVita for offering this to us, maraming salamat sa PAG-IBIG for making this possible. Napakapalad po ng Naga City," she said.

[“Today, we are awarding the house keys to 110 beneficiaries. What is especially good about BellaVita is that the entire village is already fully developed. There is already a multi-purpose hall, and the houses are finished. We are very grateful to BellaVita for offering this opportunity to us, and we also thank Pag-IBIG for making this possible. Naga City is truly fortunate.”]

Lao said the program reflects a shared commitment to making homeownership more accessible to the city employees who serve Naga. “[This project] did not arrive on its own. It took Mayor Robredo and the entire Naga City government, Secretary Aliling and the DHSUD, and Pag-IBIG Fund under CEO Marilene Acosta — all choosing to build a bridge together, so that the very people who keep this city running, who process the permits, clear the streets, and answer the calls at City Hall, could come home to an address of their own, here in the same city they serve.”

The significance of the program goes beyond the homes themselves. It shows how good governance can bring different sectors together to create opportunities that directly improve people’s lives. For the employees receiving their keys, that partnership means greater stability and the chance to put down roots in Naga City, where they work, serve, and build their lives.