The Pag-IBIG Fund and the Naga City Government have turned over the initial batch of 576 affordable housing units at BellaVita Naga in Barangay Pacol, each priced at PHP350,000, to help local government workers acquire their own homes.

In a news release on Wednesday, the Pag-IBIG Fund said Naga City Employees’ Housing Project offers qualified city employees, particularly first-time homebuyers and those in lower salary grades, access to Pag-IBIG Housing Loans.

For the first five years, the subsidized interest rate is 3 percent per annum under the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (Expanded 4PH) Program.

The turnover ceremony coincided with the observance of Jesse Robredo Day on Tuesday, honoring the legacy of good governance left by the former Naga City mayor and interior secretary.

The release of units comes just two months after Pag-IBIG Fund and the Naga LGU signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June.

To fast-track the project, Pag-IBIG Fund, Naga City, and developer BellaVita established a streamlined government-to-government documentation framework.

Naga City Mayor Maria Leonor Robredo highlighted the project’s fast execution, noting that more than 100 housing loan accounts have already been processed and taken out.

“For many years, it has been our aspiration to provide housing opportunities for our city government employees, but affordability has always been a challenge, especially for those in the lower salary grades. Through our partnership with Pag-IBIG Fund and BellaVita, that aspiration is now becoming a reality,” she said.

“We hope to complete the takeover of all 576 housing units by October, and eventually extend the same opportunity to our teachers, uniformed personnel, and other workers in Naga, including those in the informal sector who are also Pag-IBIG Fund members,” she added.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene Acosta underscored that combining LGU identification of needs with national housing resources and private developer support presents a replicable model across the country.

“We continue to heed President (Ferdinand R.) Marcos’ (Jr.) direction to widen access to affordable homeownership for working Filipinos, including government employees who devote their careers to public service. What we are seeing in Naga shows how this direction can be translated into actual homes when a local government identifies the needs of its workforce and government institutions align housing delivery and affordable financing around those needs,” she said.

She added that the Pag-IBIG Fund continues to heed the President’s direction to widen access to affordable homeownership for working Filipinos, including government employees who devote their careers to public service. (PNA)