SHFC, Apl.de.Ap sign partnership for community empowerment

The Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with international artist and philanthropist Allan Pineda Lindo, more popularly known as Apl.de.Ap of Grammy-winning group The Black Eyed Peas, to collaborate on initiatives for vulnerable and underserved communities.

Guided by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development under the leadership of Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling, SHFC actively implements the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program—the flagship initiative of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

The partnership was formally signed by SHFC President and CEO Federico Laxa and Apl.de.Ap in a ceremony held at the agency’s head office in Makati on June 5. Under the agreement, SHFC and Apl.de.Ap and Co. will collaborate in key areas, including housing and community development, youth empowerment and education, livelihood and skills training, and advocacy and public engagement.

“This partnership will be very meaningful for SHFC as it is the start of an undertaking that will take care of our beneficiaries beyond what we have provided them,” Laxa said. “We have to take care of them to make sure that they live comfortably and enjoy a good quality of life,” he added.

Apl.de.Ap expressed his gratitude and optimism about the partnership, emphasizing its potential to make a meaningful impact on the lives of Filipinos. “I am very excited about this partnership and I want to thank Mr. Rico Laxa for trusting my team and I for this opportunity and I can’t wait to start to help other people like me growing up and to build homes and walls so we could dream and have opportunity,” he said.

To kick off the collaboration, a pilot project is set to be implemented in Pampanga—the home province of both Laxa and Apl.de.Ap. It will serve as a model for empowered and sustainable communities.

The MOU reflects SHFC’s continued mission to go beyond building housing units by fostering holistic, empowered, and sustainable communities—a vision now strengthened by the passion and global reach of Apl.de.Ap and his team.

As a key implementing agency of the 4PH program, SHFC has spearheaded several notable housing projects across the country, including People’s Ville in Davao City, Crystal Peak Estates in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Valley View Township in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, and San Miguel de Manila Residences and Port Town in Manila.