Housing czar Jose Rizalino Acuzar has tapped the SM Development Corp. for a public-private partnership on the resettlement projects in the earthquake-stricken Abra province.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), along with the National Housing Authority, Pag-IBIG Fund’s Home Development Mutual Fund, and Tayum local government in Abra jointly signed a memorandum of understanding with the private developer.
Another MOU was signed with the local government of Bucay also in Abra targeting quake-affected families as among the beneficiaries.
“Our plan of developing resettlement sites is already in place. In fact, I came here with officials from the SM Development Corporation as one of our partners in constructing resettlement sites here in Abra,” Acuzar said.
The housing chief inked the partnership with SMDC to explore options for the affected residents with shelter and permanent housing assistance through the developer’s incentivized compliance to the balanced housing development program, including rental subsidy, purchase of land as relocation site, and land development.
He earlier initiated preliminary talks with some of the biggest developers in the country to fast-track recovery and rehabilitation efforts in the quake-affected areas, particularly in terms of safe and sustainable housing programs.
In Bucay town, the NHA’s ongoing resettlement project is seen to be one of the sites for permanent housing of affected families with planned additional development and improvement.
Acuzar asked the LGU in the area to study potential subsidized housing projects for its constituents with assistance from the national government.