To sustain housing initiatives in this capital city under the Marcos administration, a debt relief is being offered to socialized housing beneficiaries here, the mayor said on Tuesday.

Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said beneficiaries of the city’s socialized housing project who have incurred huge penalties will get a reprieve based on the program outlined by the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP).

Beneficiaries who are now residing at the city’s 120 socialized housing sites could benefit from the program, he said.

In the debt relief program, Garcia said the city would require a beneficiary to pay only 10 percent of the total penalties incurred on their housing loan, thus 90 percent of the unpaid penalties would be condoned.

“It’s a relief for our socialized housing beneficiaries in Cebu City. Imagine that 90 percent of the penalties are being waived,” he added.

Ordinance 2734 does not include beneficiaries of the city socialized housing under the Slum Improvement and Relocation program.

The Cebu City Housing Loan Restructuring and Penalty Condonation Ordinance of 2023 specifically provides that debt relief is open to all beneficiaries of the City Housing and Acquisition of Privately-Owned Lots, City-Owned Rehabilitation of Estates, and the Acquisition and Disposition of Relocation Sites.

Garcia said the application for condonation and debt restructuring can be filed before the DWUP office at the Cebu City Hall. (PNA)