DAVAO CITY (PIA), Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay vowed to provide decent shelters to the indigenous people (IP), saying that the IP would become “part and parcel” of his new program on housing that is being strengthened in partnership with the local government units (LGUs).

Binay said his office is finding ways to draw plans of embracing the indigenous communities in the national shelter program that would afford them modest homes within the ancestral land, citing particularly in Mindanao area.

The chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) announced this recently as he addressed the local chief executives of Regions 11 and 12 during the Pabahay Caravan held at the Marco Polo Hotel, this city.

Binay admitted though that giving housing to the vulnerable sectors such as the informal settlers and the IPs “is a formidable task,” stressing the importance of partnership with the LGUs to address housing backlogs in the country.

In line with the housing thrust, Binay strengthened partnership with the LGUs which were tapped to set up housing projects for government employees, private workers, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and the informal sectors.

“We at the national shelter agencies empower you to deliver the endeavor of bringing quality homes to your constituents,” he told the governors and mayors of Regions 11 and 12 who attended the 4th housing roadshow spearheaded by HUDCC’s attached agencies.

The housing roadshow aimed to introduce to the LGUs the national shelter agencies’ respective housing programs and services offered by the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or Pag-IBIG Fund, Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), National Housing Authority (NHA), and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

Pag-IBIG fund offered the LGU Pabahay Program wherein LGU employees would benefit from the program.

SHFC presented its Localized Community Mortgage Program, a modified community mortgage program wherein qualified LGUs would be provided with financial resource not to exceed P50 million to implement affordable housing projects to its constituents.

SHFC is the lead government agency mandated to undertake financing of social housing programs that caters to the formal and informal sectors in the low-income bracket.

The NHA introduced its Resettlement Program for LGUs, while HLURB presented its guide to Comprehensive Land Use Plan formulation.

Binay hoped that this partnership with the LGUs would help address the housing backlogs of 3.7 million units in 10 years.

He said that aside from the P50 billion fund allocation from Pag-IBIG for its members this year, an additional funding of P5 billion from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) would be transferred to the Pag-IBIG fund.

He added that the Social Security System (SSS) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) would also bring additional fund to Pag-IBIG.