Forty-four informal settler families in Marikina City have received land titles under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said Friday.

The beneficiaries from Barangay Malanday were awarded individual Transfer Certificates of Title during a ceremony led by DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling and Social Housing Finance Corp. President and CEO Federico Laxa.

The title distribution is part of the Enhanced Community Mortgage Program, which helps informal settler families secure legal ownership of the land they occupy.

The project, implemented with the Marikina City government, covers an on-site housing community in Purok III and has benefited 124 members of the Samahang Magkakapitbisig ng Purok III Homeowners Association Inc. Phase II-A through a community loan from DHSUD and SHFC.

Aliling said the titles provide beneficiaries with security of tenure and support the government's efforts to expand access to housing.

"Every Transfer Certificate of Title we award represents a concrete step toward strengthening security of tenure for Filipino families," he said.

Several beneficiaries said owning the land where they built their homes ended years of uncertainty and gave them property they could pass on to their children.