Vice President Jejomar C. Binay said key shelter agencies (KSAs), led by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) are closely coordinating with the provincial government of Pampanga to identify specific housing needs of the province.

            Binay cited the recently conducted Pabahay Caravan in the province of Pampanga as one of the vehicles where KSAs bring their housing programs and services to local governments.

            Binay added that the caravan was conceptualized when Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda requested his help in the province’s proposed housing initiatives for their poor constituents, including the housing for indigenous peoples (IPs).

            “We appreciate local government units (LGUs) whose programs and agenda include the delivery of housing for their constituents,” he said.

            Various proposals were raised during the caravan attended by local chief executives and department heads of the province’s 19 municipalities and 2 component cities.

            Binay said a housing project for Aetas is presently on the works, with the National Housing Authority (NHA) earlier approving a P14 million funding for that purpose.

            The Vice President also instructed the NHA to study the proposal of Governor Pineda to transfer the ownership of the 10-hectare NHA property in San Isidro to the provincial government of Pampanga. He added that Pineda also proposed the transfer of the administration of the Arayat Resettlement Project from the municipality of Arayat to the Pampanga provincial government.

            Binay also said the Pampanga provincial government also made known its intention to avail of Pag-IBIG Fund’s Group Housing Program (GHP) covering the construction of Medium-Rise Buildings (MRBs), saying it would maximize the utilization of its scarce land resources.

            Meanwhile, Binay said the KSAs have been advocating the formulation and updating of Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs) and Local Shelter Plans (LSPs) of the LGUs as this would help identify the areas suitable for housing.

            “It would not be difficult to implement locally initiated housing projects if CLUPs and LSPs are already in place, more so if the LGUs have created functional Local Housing Boards (LHBs)”, Binay stressed.

            Out of the 22 cities and towns in Pampanga, only two have no CLUP yet and eight towns are on the process of updating. Governor Pineda directed the immediate formulation or updating of the CLUPs of these LGUs.