DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar
MANILA – Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar on Wednesday thanked major government financial institutions (GFIs) for their pledge of support to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s “Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program.”
“On behalf of the millions of Filipino families still dreaming of owning decent yet affordable homes, I thank our GFIs from the bottom of my heart for their support,” Acuzar said after signing the memoranda of understanding (MOU) with heads of different GFIs – Pag-IBIG Fund, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
Wednesday’s MOU signing was witnessed by Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito and Palayan City Mayor Viandrei Nicole Cuevas.
That day, President Marcos led the inauguration of the Palayan City Township Housing Project in Barangay Atate, Palayan, Nueva Ecija which is designed to have 44 towers with about 11,000 housing units.
Pag-IBIG Fund CEO Marilene Acosta, DBP president Emmanuel Herbosa, SSS president Michael Regino, GSIS president Jose Arnulfo Veloso and LBP president Cecilia Borromeo signed the agreement for their respective agencies in Palayan City.
Acuzar said the partnership is a testament of the GFIs' commitment toward realizing the “Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program's” goal of building 1 million houses per year in the next six years, to address the country’s housing need of more than 6.5 million units.
“This is massive in terms of the financial side of the flagship housing program of our President -- a huge boost for the roll out of the program and go full blast in the construction hopefully by next year,” he said.
Under the MOU, the GFIs have pledged support to DHSUDs housing programs through collaboration on the funding strategies; allocation of financial, technical and operational resources for Pambansang Pabahay as part of their priority programs and develop and or enhance existing housing programs.
Earlier, Acuzar met separately with the GFI heads to present the out-of-the-box concept of the housing program, which is focused on tapping the private sector to play an active role in the housing industry.
The program aims to address the two main problems in the housing industry -- affordability and access to funds.
The Pag-IBIG Fund has committed PHP250 billion for the "Pambansang Pabahay" for the next six years. (PNA)
