MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government yesterday launched a housing project intended to benefit more than 400 public school teachers and indigent residents in the city.
Mayor Joy Belmonte, together with Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, led the groundbreaking for the project dubbed “Programang Pabahay para sa mga Guro at mga taga-Lungsod Quezon” located in Barangay Holy Spirit.
The project, to be co-implemented by the city government and the National Housing Authority (NHA), involves the construction of eight 5-story and one 12-story buildings in a compound to be called “QCitizen Homes Republic Residences.”
Three hundred units shall be offered exclusively to residents who will qualify based on their socioeconomic status, while 144 units will be for teachers and non-teaching personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd) who will meet the same requirement.
The units can be availed of through housing loans from the Home Development Mutual Fund or the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) at low interest rates.
The groundbreaking ceremony was immediately followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Belmonte and Duterte in connection with the identification of teacher-beneficiaries for the housing project.
The event was also attended by former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Vice Mayor Gian Carlo Sotto, District 2 Rep. Ralph Tulfo, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Felicito Valmocina, NHA general manager Joeben Tai, GSIS president Wick Veloso, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Mel Robles and QC Division of City Schools head Jenilyn Rose Corpuz.
“Our teachers have long been waiting for this (housing project). This is to give back to all their hard work in shaping the future of our youth,” Belmonte said.
Duterte, meanwhile, thanked the Quezon City government for including the teachers and non-teaching personnel of the DepEd as beneficiaries of the project.