Valenzuela city: More informal settler families (ISFs) in Valenzuela City are moving closer to owning the land they have occupied for decades through the expanded Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program, the flagship housing initiative of the Marcos administration.
According to Philippines News Agency, over 200 residents from the Bagong Pag-asa Neighborhood Association of PARADA, Inc. in Barangay Parada received assistance under the Enhanced Community Mortgage Program (ECMP). This support enables them to secure the 2,318-square-meter property where many have built their homes and raised families.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), through the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), awarded over PHP9 million in assistance to cover land acquisition and related taxes. DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling and SHFC President and Chief Executive Officer Federico Laxa led the ceremonial awarding on Wednesday.
For beneficiaries, the assistance represents more than just land ownership. Hospital worker Robert Salabao expressed the community's long-standing aspiration to own the land, highlighting its significance as the place where they grew up and started families.
Residents emphasized the importance of remaining in their community to access schools, markets, hospitals, and government services. School watchman Mark Anthony Tagnong noted that the program restored dignity and hope to families who had lived without security of tenure for years, expressing gratitude to the Marcos administration for its continued support of housing initiatives for low-income Filipinos.
Aliling emphasized that the housing program extends beyond construction, aiming to uplift the dignity and quality of life of Filipino families. Association president Elmer Rivera highlighted the opportunity for families to invest their money in eventually owning the land, rather than endlessly paying rent, and underscored the importance of remaining connected to essential daily services.
Beneficiaries are expected to pay an estimated monthly amortization of PHP681.29. Since the ECMP was launched in July 2025, a total of 45 projects benefiting more than 7,700 families nationwide have been approved under the expanded 4PH Program.
