QUEZON CITY (PIA) -- The Local Government of Marikina City, led by Mayor Marcy Teodoro, held the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the groundbreaking ceremony of the Bagong Sibol housing project in Kabayani Road, Barangay Nangka on Friday, October 7.

“Napakahalaga ng umagang ito dahil masasaksihan natin ang paglagda sa isang Memorandum of Understanding sa pagitan ng Pamahalaang Lungsod ng Marikina at DHSUD to explore the possibility of establishing human settlement in this area,” Mayor Teodoro said.

The project was part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program being led by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD). This is the flagship housing program of the administration.

The partnership between DHSUD and the Marikina LGU was set in motion on August 30, 2022 when Mayor Teodoro met with DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino “Jerry” Acuzar to discuss the said program of the President.

Also discussed during the meeting was the need to provide decent and safe human settlement for government employees and vulnerable members of the Marikina community.

The project is part of the 100 days accomplishments of the Marcos administration in the housing sector which intends to build one million housing units nationwide per year within the six-year term of the President to address the country’s housing backlog.

During his speech, DHSUD Sec. Acuzar bared that the country’s housing need, pegged at 6.5 million, is “definitely possible” under this national housing program.

“This will not be easy, but definitely possible, as we are already making significant strides in making this happen. This MoU signing and groundbreaking ceremony for a land development and housing project is a concrete manifestation of that,” the housing czar said.

He reiterated the eagerness of DHSUD in fast-tracking the implementation of the said housing program, as evidenced by the new strategies on housing production and finance being devised by the agency to ensure that stakeholders accordingly do their duties while mutually gaining benefits from establishing housing projects.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to be the President’s emissary in sending this good news to all of you here in Marikina City, and in the country as a whole – unti-unti na pong matutupad ang pangarap ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino na nagnanais magkaroon ng sariling bahay. Sa pamamagitan po ng Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program, sisikapin natin na makapagpatayo ng isang milyong bahay kada taon,” Secretary Acuzar added.