After more than 45 years, employees working at the University of the Philippines' Los Baños campus (UPLB) will soon be assured of a place they can call home.
Last August 24, officials of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and UPLB kickstarted the construction of the UP-Los Baños (UPLB) 4PH Rental Housing Project in Barangay Paciano Rizal, Bay, Laguna.
The concrete-pouring ceremony was led by DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling, Senior Undersecretary Eduardo Robles Jr., UP President Angelo Jimenez, and UPLB Chancellor Dr. Jose Camacho Jr.
The new project aims to provide a total of 320 housing units for qualified beneficiaries, including low-income UPLB employees, students, and informal settler families from neighboring communities, at affordable rental rates.
The project forms part of the DHSUD's Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program as one of its pilot rental housing initiatives.
A similar rental housing facility is now under construction at Barangay Landayan, San Pedro City, Laguna, for residents who were displaced by the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) South Extension project but were found ineligible for socialized housing projects.
“Layunin natin sa Expanded 4PH ang matugunan ang pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan para sa disente, ligtas, at abot-kayang pabahay," Aliling said.
The secretary reaffirmed the agency's commitment to supporting housing projects across UP campuses through policy reforms and expanded program schemes.
UP officials commended the swift transition from site development to vertical construction, noting that UP will pursue similar housing projects for its lowest-paid employees as a "proof of concept."
(With report from PNA/OpinYon News Team)
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