ASINGAN, Pangasinan (PIA) – Affordable housing units will soon be available for low-income families in Pangasinan as the first township project in the Ilocos Region under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program (4PH) breaks ground in Asingan town on Friday.
The housing project, which will consist of 10 vertical-style four-story buildings, will have 96 units per building with a 27 square meter floor area for each unit.
Engr. Sherwin Patanao, 4PH regional focal person of the Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD), said the project will be built within the 21,351 square meters of land in Barangay Carosucan Norte this town.
Patanao said the construction of the project is set for the first quarter of 2024 and is expected to be finished within five years.
He said 4PH is a priority program of DHSUD that aims to provide affordable, decent and liveable communities to address the housing needs of the Filipino people.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, DHSUD Undersecretary Emmanuel Pineda said the housing project will have amenities such as a swimming pool, playground, commercial space, clubhouse and car and motorcycle parking slots.
“We wanted it to be breathable and liveable so instead of 30 percent minimum open space, we made it to a minimum of 40 percent open space for the occupants to really experience the quality of life,” Pineda said in his speech.
He said the condo-type unit is payable in 30 years, at P2,600 per month amortization in the first year and P3,600 per month in the following years.
DHSUD Assistant Secretary for Regional Operation Daryll Bryan Villanueva vowed that the housing project will be affordable to all Filipino citizens who are minimum wage earners, contract of service government workers especially those belonging in informal sectors as the project will be partly subsidized by the national government.
“If the interest rate of the housing loan is at six percent, five percent of it will be subsidized by the national government, so the occupants will only pay for the principal amount and the remaining one percent interest,” he said, adding that no down payment will be required to occupy the units.
Villanueva said aspiring occupants should meet the following requirements to avail of the units:
- endorsement from the local government unit;
- income classification;
- active PagIBIG member with at least 24 month remittance, no outstanding PagIBIG short term loan, no PagIBIG account foreclosed or canceled and no PagIBIG default;
- legal capacity;
- age limit 65 years old and below and not more than 70 years old on loan maturity.
Likewise, Asingan town Mayor Carlos Lopez, Jr. said the local government unit is grateful to the national government for granting them the project as they have been working to have a housing project for their municipality since 2016.
He said the LGU has already approved 300 applicants and some of them are overseas workers, tricycle drivers, teachers and national government employees. (JCR/MJTAB/EMSA/PIA Pangasinan)
