President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos led the ceremonial awarding of five housing units under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program on Tuesday, marking the first-ever turnover of units under the flagship initiative.

The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who received the symbolic keys to their units were Jeramie Leyno, Madeleine Anne Mallare, Ramon Mabiog, Fatima Tolentino, and Rogelio Crisostomo.

Leyno is a painter in Japan, while Mallare, Mabiog, Tolentino, and Crisostomo are returning OFWs from Saudi Arabia, Japan, Singapore, and Libya, respectively.

These five individuals were among those who applied for housing units at the Palayan City Township Project, which is part of the 4PH program. They were processed and endorsed by the Palayan City LGU and vetted by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) as per 4PH guidelines, before being approved by the Pag-IBIG Fund.

The five OFWs have also visited the actual site of the housing project in Barangay Atate.

As beneficiaries of the 4PH program, the OFWs will receive interest support from the national government to help with their monthly amortization.

"Ito po ang ambag ng DHSUD sa hangarin ng ating mahal na Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Unang Ginang Liza Araneta-Marcos na ibigay ang lahat ng suporta at tulong sa ating mga bayaning OFWs at kanilang mga pamilya upang makamit ang kanilang pangarap na sariling tahanan na disente at ligtas," Secretary Acuzar said.

"Maliit na bagay lamang po ito kung ikukumpara sa mga sakripisyo ng ating mga OFWs para sa bayan. Sila po ay patuloy na nagsisilbing isa sa matibay na pundasyon ng ating pambansang ekonomiya," he added.

This turnover marks the first units delivered under the 4PH Program since its launch in 2022, and is the result of the Joint Memorandum Circular 2024-01 signed by DHSUD and DMW in October.

In addition, four housing units under 4PH were raffled off to more than 500 OFWs and their dependents who attended the event.

The awarding ceremony was attended by DHSUD Secretary Acuzar and DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac during the Pamaskong Handog para sa OFWs at Malacañang Palace.