Financial institutions sign MOU to support housing program

Government financial institutions (GFI) have formally pledged their support to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program on Wednesday in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija.

This, after Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar signed Memoranda of Understanding with heads of GFIs including Pag-IBIG Fund, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Land Bank of the Philippines.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene Acosta, DBP President Emmanuel Herbosa, SSS President Michael Regino, GSIS President Jose Arnulfo Veloso and LBP President Cecilia Borromeo personally signed for their respective agencies in Palayan City.

The MOU signing was witnessed by Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito and Palayan City Mayor Viandrei Nicole Cuevas.

The partnership is a testament of the GFIs’ commitment toward realizing the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program’s goal of building one 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,” Secretary Acuzar said.

“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,” he added.

The MOU signing happened on the same day the President led the inauguration of the Palayan City Township Housing Project in Nueva Ecija which is planned to have 44 towers with about 11,000 housing units.

Under the MOU, the GFIs have pledged support to DHSUDs housing programs thru collaboration specifically 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, Secretary Acuzar met separately with the GFI heads to present the out-of-the-box concept of the Pambasang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program –which is focused on tapping the private sector to play an active role in the housing industry.

Under the program, the DHSUD chief aims to address the two main problems in the housing industry –affordability and access to funds.

The Pag-IBIG Fund has already committed P250 billion for the “Pambansang Pabahay” for the next six years.