SHFC okays home loans for 2,600 informal settler families

MANILA, Philippines - Some 2,600 informal settler families will soon become homeowners after the Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) board of directors approved the home loan applications of two community associations, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Friday.

Binay said the loan applications of the Dario River Alliance Housing Cooperative (DRAHC) and Alyansang Mamamayan sa Valenzuela at Caloocan Housing Cooperative (AMVCHC), amounting to P1.15 billion, will be financed under the high-density housing program.

“The two projects will be implemented in two phases – phase one for land acquisition and phase two for site development and building construction. The SHFC board has approved an initial amount of P218.52 million to cover land acquisition,” said Binay, the concurrent chairman of SHFC and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

With the approval of the loan, the 1,164 member-families of DRAHC currently living in Barangay Masambong, San Francisco del Monte, San Antonio, Apolonio Samson, and Bahay Toro, all alongside the Dario River in Quezon City, will be relocated to a 2.7-hectare site in Barangay Pasong Tamo.

Meanwhile, the 1,440 beneficiaries from AMVCHC will be moved to a 4.2-hectare relocation site at Sitio La Mesa in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City. They currently occupy makeshift houses along the Tullahan River in Barangays Gen. T. de Leon and Ugong, also in Valenzuela City.

Majority of the families are informal income earners.

Binay said the high-density housing is part of President Aquino’s P50-billion program to ensure safe and flood-resilient permanent housing solutions for the informal settlers living in danger areas of the National Capital Region. The program will be implemented over a five-year period.