State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) approved a P300 million loan to the Government of Ormoc City in Leyte to build a vertical home project.

This is DBP’s first assistance under its credit facility for the Pambansang

Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (BAHAY-4PH) program.

“Through the BAHAY-4PH Program, DBP seeks to ramp up its support to the efforts to achieve the national housing target of 6.5 million units from 2022 to 2028 and foster inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable human settlement,” DBP president and CEO Michael de Jesus said Thursday.

The low-rise housing project in Ormoc will consist of two buildings with four stories and 96 units each. Beneficiaries include low-income families and those who are still living in government-owned properties.

Population expanding

As a first-class city in the province of Leyte, Ormoc’s population has grown to over 300,000 and mainly works in agro-commercial, industrial, and tourism industries.

The National Economic and Development Authority said Leyte was one of the provinces in Eastern Visayas that reported lower overall poverty incidence amid the pandemic. The others are Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Southern Leyte.