NEARLY a thousand employees of the San Fernando City Government can finally move in to their new townhomes, as the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the City Government formally turned over Tuesday, March 29, the properties to recipients.
Five hundred out of the total 937 housing units built around a nine-hectare lot in Barangay Panipuan in the City of San Fernando were turned over to new homeowners during the ceremony.
Project contractor Baque Corporation said each unit is 42 square meters in size and has two bedrooms at the second floor, living, kitchen and dining area, bathroom, as well as open laundry area at the ground floor.
“Nakasisiguro tayo na dekalidad ang pagkakagawa ng mga bahay dahil dekalidad din ang mga ginamit nating materyales. Simula pa lang, mayroon na tayong engineers na nagbantay sa konstruksyon upang masiguro natin ang kalidad ng mga ito,” said Baque Corporation president Ofelia Tan.
The socialized housing project will serve as model community to other projects of SHFC and DHSUD, said SHFC president Arnolfo Cabling.
Cabling also said that each unit has a contract price of some P600,000 with a socialized monthly amortization ranging from P1,800 to P2,000, payable in 25 to 30 years.
“This is under socialized rate. Para dun sa mga mataas at regular ang income, it’s 6.0 percent interest rate, doon sa mga casual employees o iyong intermittent ang income, we give 4.5 percent interest rate tapos iyong mga hirap talaga, we give 2.0 percent interest rate, the lowest in the industry,” he said.
Aside from the housing units, DHSUD chief Eduardo del Rosario said the agency will build a concrete fence, covered court, day care center, and market within the site, free of charge from the homeowners.
Meanwhile, del Rosario said the City of San Fernando was chosen as the pilot beneficiary of the program because of the readiness and commitment to provide affordable but decent housing to its employees showed by the City Government.
“Nakita namin sa San Fernando na talagang comprehensive ang kanilang program para sa holistic human development. The mayor really recognizes that housing is a basic human services that must be delivered by the local and national government,” he said.
Mayor Edwin Santiago, for his part, said that it has been his goal since he was elected mayor to provide affordable housing to fellow City Government employees.
“Simula nang ako ay mailuklok, layunin na natin na mabigyan nang maayos at matibay na pabahay ang mga empleyado. Higit sa lahat ay masiguro ang seguridad nila dahil naniniwala tayo na ‘home is where we should feel secured and comfortable’,” he said.