Silay: The Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) has approved two housing projects in Silay City, Negros Occidental, under the Enhanced Community Mortgage Program (ECMP), paving the way for more than 330 families to secure ownership of the land where their homes stand.
According to Philippines News Agency, the SHFC announced in a news release that its Credit Committee has approved projects for the La Vida Homeowners' Association Inc. and Ofelia Gonzaga Homeowners in Barangay Rizal, Silay City. The ECMP is one of the housing initiatives being implemented by SHFC under the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).
The program is designed to help organized communities purchase the land they occupy to provide safe, decent, and affordable housing to more Filipino families. SHFC President and Chief Executive Officer Federico Laxa emphasized the agency's commitment to intensifying efforts to help more Filipinos achieve the dream of owning their land and permanent homes. He also noted that three additional communities were recently added to the list of approved ECMP projects.
With the latest approvals, the overall number of ECMP projects approved nationwide has reached 43, expected to provide security of tenure to over 7,400 families across the country. SHFC highlighted that the increasing number of approved projects reflects the government's ongoing efforts to expand and accelerate housing programs to address the shelter needs of Filipino families.
On Tuesday, the DHSUD and the SHFC formally awarded a check worth more than PHP18 million to purchase the land occupied by members of the Don Vicente Villas Homeowners' Association Inc. Phase 8 in Barangay Pulo. The association, consisting of 271 families, is among the beneficiaries of the ECMP. The check was handed to the landowner's representative as payment for the property where the beneficiaries' homes currently stand. Additionally, the community received a grant to cover the documentary stamp tax on the mortgage, facilitating the legal transfer of land ownership to the association.
