QUEZON CITY – DEPARTMENT of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, acting as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC), has approved the loan application for the resettlement of more than 200 informal settlers families (ISFs) living along the Davao River.
In a recent board meeting with SHFC officials via video conference, Secretary Del Rosario and the SHFC board unanimously approved the P19,977,456A-loan applied by members of the Green Hills Homeowners Association Inc.
The association is composed of 209 ISFs that voluntarily demolished their shanties along the Davao River in January 2019 to give way to a flood control project of the Department of Public Works and Highways. Currently, the affected ISFs are staying at a makeshift evacuation center in Barangay 1-A in Davao City.
The approved loan will be used in the acquisition and development of a 29,037-square-meter lot in Barangay Talomo River, Calinan District in Davao City. The resettlement area will be a subdivision-like development project complete with amenities like basketball court, religious site, public park, and utilities like water and electricity.
The project has the all-out support of Davao City local government unit, under Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. Each housing unit has 33-sqm floor area with two bedrooms and one toilet and bath.
The member-beneficiaries will be paying straight monthly amortization for as low as P1,635 with a term of payment of up to 35 years.
“This is another proof of the Duterte administration’s commitment to provide decent homes to our countrymen and getting them out of harms’ way,” Secretary Del Rosario said. “I commend the officials of SHFC, especially Attorney Arnulfo Cabling, for this project and I wish SHFC more success in providing community-based housing for the homeless particularly the ISFs,” he added.
SHFC, which is among DHSUD’s key shelter agencies, is the lead government agency mandated to undertake financing of social housing programs that will cater to the formal and informal sectors in the low-income bracket. Among its flagship projects is the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) that provides opportunities to ISFs to relocate as a community. PILIPINO MIRROR REPORTORIAL TEAM