Marcos inspects housing project in Nueva Ecija

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos yesterday visited Palayan City in Nueva Ecija to inspect a housing project and distribute rice to vendors.

Marcos’ first stop was the Palayan City Township Project in Barangay Atate, which is part of the nationwide housing initiative under the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino or 4PH.

The 23-hectare project is a vertical housing community that fuses residential buildings with open spaces and shared facilities. It is expected to accomodate 22,596 people across 24 buildings.

Beneficiaries are not required to give a downpayment, to make the project accessible to minimum wage earners.

The monthly amortization ranges from P3,500 to P4,000.

“We are building not just houses, but a community with livelihood and service,” Marcos said.

The government has been eyeing to build one million houses annually within six years, to address the housing backlog, which has reached 6.5 million.

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development reduced the target to 3.2 million houses in six years because of procedural issues and the effects of cyclones.

After the inspection, Marcos distributed 10 kilos of rice each to 100 ambulant vendors. He inspected the Kadiwa store, which sells affordable farm produce and other basic commodities.

Marcos met with 19 barangay chairmen, who each received P200,000 each to fund the needs of their communities.