QUEZON CITY — A total of 444 qualified public school teachers and residents will have homes in the soon-to-rise residential buildings initiated by the city government through the National Housing Authority (NHA).

Vice President Sara Duterte and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, together with former President-now-Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, on Tuesday led the groundbreaking of the project ‘Programang Pabahay para sa mga Guro at mga taga-Lungsod Quezon.’

A total of 300 units shall be offered exclusively to residents who will qualify based on their socioeconomic status, while 144 units will be for public school teachers and non-teaching force of the Department of Education who will meet the same requirement.

The units can be availed via financing through PAG-IBIG or the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The compound, dubbed as “QCitizen Homes Republic Residences,” will pave the way for the construction of eight 5-storey and one 12-storey buildings.

The Vice President, who undertook the partnership with Mayor Belmonte through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), thanked the local government of Quezon City for implementing ways to resolve settlement problems in the city.

“Una po ang pagpapasalamat ko sa local government of Quezon City sa kanilang imbitasyon sa akin para dumalo sa groundbreaking ng ating pabahay para sa mga Pilipino at ang beneficiaries ay ang ating mga qualified na guro ng Department of Education,” Duterte said.

“Ang isyu ng kawalan ng pabahay ay hindi lang po nakasentro sa mga highly-urbanized na mga lugar sa Metro Manila katulad ng Quezon City o Davao City sa Mindanao,” she added.

Duterte, who served as Davao City mayor, shared that housing was also their major challenge back in the city and that they were learning from QC’s resources and assets.

She also recalled that during her term as mayor, she was able to put up a residential facility called Biyaya ng Pagbabago for the Dabawenyos.

“We have partnered with NHA, San Miguel Foundation, and a private non-profit organization called Pilipinong May Puso Foundation in the establishment of two relocation sites for our urban informal settlers,” she said.

“Our dream was for our fellow Dabawenyos to live in affordable homes, homes that are decent, homes they can call their own, and homes where they can raise their children happily and safely,” she added.

The Vice President also encouraged the teaching force to engage in entrepreneurial activities, saying that the OVP’s newly-launched program Magnegosyo Ta ‘Day, which serves women and LGBTQ+ members with business training, could help them.

OVP Media