Gov’t To Expand AFP Housing

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the government is expanding its housing program for soldiers and policemen outside Metro Manila with the planned construction of additional 31,200 housing units in urban centers in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., AFP spokesman, announced this as the second phase of the AFP- PNP (Philippine National Police) housing program was unveiled by the National Housing Authority (NHA) last Friday at the Department of National Defense (DND) building in Camp Aguinaldo. ''This will provide a total of 31,200 housing units with at least one housing site in every region with a maximum of 1,500 units per location either city or municipality,'' said Burgos. Among the general locations for the housing program in Luzon are Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Batangas, Cavite, Quezon, Albay, Camarines Sur, and the National Capital Region (NCR). In Visayas, housing sites will be developed in Iloilo, Capiz, Negros Occidental, Cebu, and Leyte. Likewise, the NHA eyes Zamboanga del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, Agusan del Sur, and Maguindanao for the Mindanao region. According to the AFP spokesman, each 40-square meter lot with a 22-square meter house costs P240,000. He added the AFP will be allocated 45 percent or 14,040 of the total 31,200 house units. The Housing Program is the flagship project of President Benigno Aquino III for the AFP and PNP. Launched in May 2011 in Bocaue, Bulacan, the project aims to benefit twenty-thousand personnel from the military and police by the end of this year. .