THE Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) is poised to resume the development of community-based projects to accelerate the implementation of the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) program, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said.
“We need to prioritize high-impact and implementable CMP projects and assist our beneficiaries transform their communities,” DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling said in a statement on Wednesday. SHFC is a key shelter agency under DHSUD.
During the initial implementation of the 4PH, all Community Mortgage Program (CMP) projects were placed on hold as the program was focused on vertical housing.
DHSUD has since expanded the 4PH program to include other modes such as horizontal socialized housing developments .
CMP is a people-led housing finance and community development program wherein SHFC assists legally organized associations of low-income groups to acquire and develop a tract of land under the concept of community ownership.
DHSUD said SHFC President Federico Laxa in a presentation to the agency noted that CMP projects will now be more transformative with consideration to incorporating development in its sites.
DHSUD added that Aliling has approved the proposal of SHFC to revive initially 34 on-site CMP projects in various parts of the country. These have been in the pipeline for years now.
The initial 34 on-site CMP projects will benefit more than 5,000 member-beneficiaries, DHSUD said.
It added Laxa stressed that the priority CMP projects will be readied for the initial awarding of lots by October to member-beneficiaries.
These projects could be subjected for further development in the future.
Laxa said these could be extended to incremental housing, when member-beneficiaries are able to afford housing improvements with the assistance of the government.
Aside from SHFC, Aliling earlier this week said Pag-IBIG Fund also has an approved exclusive 4PH program.
The Pag-IBIG Fund website said the program for 4PH is different from the regular Pag-IBIG housing loan program. For qualified members, the loan under 4PH will have lower cost, lower interest rates, and government subsidized amortization.
To qualify, the local government unit and DHSUD must nominate the beneficiary based on criteria including whether the applicant is a first-time homeowner and is within the low-income classification. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may be nominated by the Department of Migrant Workers.
