BACOLOD City – A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed on Saturday, Sept. 3, to start a housing project here this October.
Yuhum Village housing project, which will be constructed in barangays Banago, Vista Alegre and 8, is a flagship program of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez for the city’s informal settler families.
The MOU was signed by Benitez and Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD) secretary Jose Rezalino Acuzar at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC).
“This is a very historic moment in terms of our dream to have decent and affordable housing for every Bacolodnon,” said Benitez.
The DHSUD, meanwhile, mandates a “continuing program of housing and urban development which shall make available at affordable cost, decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas,” as enshrined on Republic Act (RA) No. 11201.
RA 11201, which took effect on Feb. 14, 2019, created the DHSUD which shall act as the primary national government entity responsible for the management of housing, human settlement, and urban development.
Earlier, DHSUD launched its “Pambansang Pabahay Para Sa Pilipino: Zero ISF(informal settler families) Program for 2028” which targets to build one million housing units per year or a total of six million housing units for six years.
Acuzar said the beneficiaries need to be members of the Pag-IBIG Fund, whose funds will be initially used to pump-prime the housing program.
“This is part of the program that (will address) the six million housing backlog. We will provide financial assistance. We’re 100-percent committed to build the 10,000 housing units for Bacolod,” he added.
After the MOU signing, Acuzar and Benitez inspected a Yuhum Village basic concrete modular house model, with a floor area of 24.5 square meters, mounted inside the BCGC.
Councilor Vladimir Gonzales, chairman of the committee on urban poor, housing, and resettlement, also said there will be fast delivery of the housing units since these are pre-fabricated. (with a report from PNA)/PN
