GMA to inaugurate housing project for AFP personnel

The biggest housing project for Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel, set to be inaugurated by President Arroyo, will soon have families of soldiers living practically next door to some of the country’s most affluent residents.

The project, called Bonifacio Heights, will be built on a proclaimed seven-hectare government property on Lawton Road, Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, located at the back of rich enclaves Forbes Park and Dasmariñas Village, and a stone’s throw from exclusive condominium Essensa.

Some 2,000 military personnel will benefit from this housing project, making it the single biggest development project of its kind.

Bonifacio Heights is a joint undertaking of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and private developer DMCI Homes.

DMCI was chosen among several developers, having come up with the best design for the project.

No government funds will be used for the project, which will be undertaken on a turn-key basis. The development firm will construct the mdeium-rise residential buildings and will only be paid upon take-out of the completed units.

According to HUDCC Chairman Michael T. Defensor, the housing project will have amenities comparable to upscale private developments at one-third their selling price in the market today.

Units will be priced as low as P630,000 to as high as P930,000, with amortizations of up to 30 years.

The Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), or Pag-IBIG Fund, will provide a mechanism to facilitate the take-out of the project through a special lending window for AFP personnel.

"This area will no longer be the exclusive domain of the affluent and the privileged. The beneficiaries of this project will be able to breathe the same air as the high and mighty," Defensor quipped.

He lauded the project which, he said, is "part of President Arroyo’s commitment to give quality housing to military personnel, and eventually, to all government employees."

"This is a monumental and historical undertaking. No other president has done or even conceived of something like this," he stressed.