The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) broke ground on a long-awaited rental housing project in Paciano Rizal, Bay, Laguna, marking the first campus housing development in over 40 years.

DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling pledged continued support for UP’s housing programs under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) initiative. The department also recently signed an agreement for a similar project at UP Diliman.

UP President Angelo Jimenez highlighted the importance of decent and dignified housing for students, faculty, and staff, stressing that campus management must take an active role in addressing housing needs. He described the collaboration with DHSUD as a key step in advancing UP’s transformative agenda.

The ceremony was attended by DHSUD Senior Undersecretary Eduardo Robles Jr., UP LB Chancellor Jose Camacho Jr., former UP President and National Scientist Emil Javier, and other officials from both institutions. The groundbreaking follows a memorandum of agreement signed just two months ago.