ILOILO City – The Pag-IBIG Fund has approved a total of P688 million in housing loans for residents of Western Visayas under the “Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing” (4PH) Program, the government’s flagship housing project under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Pag-IBIG data showed that from July 2022 to September 2024, the fund approved housing loans worth P688 million, supporting the construction of 1,056 housing units across the region, primarily benefiting Bacolod City in Negros Occidental.
According to Atty. Stanley Alayon, Branch Head of Pag-IBIG Fund in Molo district, most of these approved units are located in Bacolod City, particularly under the “Asenso Yuhum” housing project by the city government.
However, Alayon anticipates an increase in Iloilo City as the “KaUSWAGan Residences” project, the city government’s first vertical socialized housing initiative, becomes operational by year-end.
The P248-million KaUSWAGan Residences project, a four-story low-rise condominium with 120 units, was developed by SM Development Corporation in partnership with CFC ANCOP, the Iloilo City Government, and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).
Nationwide, from July 2022 to September 2024, Pag-IBIG Fund approved P20.17 billion for 17,791 housing units.
The DHSUD-Region 6 reported in September that the region requires 495,268 housing units to address backlogs from 2013 to 2017, based on data from each local government unit’s Local Shelter Plan.
The backlog includes those living in their parents’ homes, the homeless or displaced, and individuals residing in homes they do not own, data from the DHSUD- Region 6 showed.
DHSUD is thus urging local government units and developers in Western Visayas to participate in the 4PH Program.
This aims to accelerate the region’s response to its growing housing backlogs and future demand for housing units.
Eva Maria Marfil, DHSUD Region 6 director, said the region needs about 400,000 units based on current housing needs. She presented the housing unit backlog per province and highly urbanized city as follows:
* Aklan – 33,975 units
* Antique – 52,178 units
* Capiz – 35,320 units
* Guimaras – 6,633 units
* Iloilo – 136,628 units
* Negros Occidental – 164,799 units
* Bacolod City – 35,787 units
* Iloilo City – 29,948 units/PN
