MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Tuesday confirmed that the local government has sealed a new partnership with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) for the construction of rental housing units to benefit informal settler families (ISFs), including those living along waterways and danger zones.
Belmonte told The Manila Times that she and DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling a memorandum of agreement (MOA) which would support the construction of medium-rise buildings within areas in Sauyo and Bagong Silangan districts.
These were identified by the local government for rental housing modality under the expanded "Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino" (4PH) program being implemented by DHSUD and its attached shelter agencies, the city chief executive said.
Aliling said around 2,900 individuals, particularly those living along waterways and danger zones, stood to benefit from the proposed housing projects.
“The DHSUD and the Quezon City government are now finalizing details of the two rental housing projects,” the housing czar said.
With the initial site works already started, the DHSUD chief said that the first rental housing project under 4PH was the Marilag Residences located in University of the Philippines-Diliman campus which was expected to benefit at least 3,000 individuals.
Aliling reiterated that the agreement his agency forged with the local government was the results of last year’s exploratory meeting between him and Belmonte, who threw her full support to the agency’s push for rental housing scheme under the national government’s housing program.
Upon his assumption last year, Aliling ordered the inclusion of rental housing among the new modalities under 4PH program. Apart from the three rental housing projects in Quezon City, similar project modalities are slated to start soon in the cities of Victorias and Iloilo in the Visayas.
The top DHSUD official stressed that the expanded 4PH also has housing modalities for the working class, through its attached agency – the Pag-IBIG Fund which offers the lowest interest rate for beneficiaries.
