President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is expected to lead the awarding of the housing units to 288 buyer-beneficiaries under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program here on Dec. 20, the city government announced on Monday.

This highly urbanized city is the first local government unit (LGU) in the country to have signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to implement the administration’s flagship shelter program.

“I am elated that Bacolod City is the first LGU that can deliver under the Pambansang Pabahay since Mayor (Alfredo Abelardo) Benitez really works hard for the housing sector. The LGUs have a major role in the Pambansang Pabahay, from start to finish, since they are in the frontline,” Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said in a statement after joining the mayor during an ocular inspection at the condominium-housing site in Barangay Vista Alegre last Nov. 10.

Developed by the consortium of WRS Holdings Inc. and Scheirman Construction Consolidated Inc., the city’s first 4PH project–Yuhum Residences– will include several mid-rise condominium buildings of four to five storeys each.

It has a wide open space, with amenities such as a park with a large swimming pool, a clubhouse/multi-purpose hall, a basketball court, commercial spaces, and parking lots.

The first building is “already in the final stages of construction,” according to the DHSUD report.

Acuzar said the target to turn over 288 units next month is “in compliance with the order of the President to expedite the delivery of shelters to our beneficiaries under Pambansang Pabahay.”

“We will continue to support the programs of the DHSUD. I thank Secretary Acuzar for having Bacolod City as among the first LGUs enrolled under the Pambansang Pabahay,” Benitez said.

As the former representative of the Third District of Negros Occidental, Benitez was the principal sponsor of the House bill that led to the enactment of Republic Act 11201, which created the DHSUD.

In Bacolod, the awardees will include informal settler families earning the equivalent minimum monthly wage of PHP10,000 and qualified to take out long-term housing loans under the Pag-IBIG Fund.

They will benefit from the DHSUD subsidy and pay a reduced monthly amortization of PHP2,300 for 30 years.

Each condo housing unit has an area of 24 square meters, priced at PHP1.02 million or PHP50,000 per square meter for a four-storey building.

Those interested in becoming a buyer-beneficiary may register at www.asensoyuhum.4phousing.com or visit the Bacolod Housing Authority at the second floor of the Bacolod City Government Center. (PNA)