Forty-four informal settler families in Barangay Malanday, Marikina City, received their individual Transfer Certificates of Title (TCTs) under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) program on Wednesday.

Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling and Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) president and chief executive officer Federico Laxa led the awarding ceremony for members of the Samahang Magkakapitbisig ng Purok III Homeowners Association Inc., Phase II-A.

The titles, issued through the Enhanced Community Mortgage Program (ECMP), formally grant beneficiaries legal ownership of the land they have occupied for years, strengthening their security of tenure.

The project covers an on-site housing community along Secondary Road, Purok III, Barangay Malanday, Marikina City. Implemented in partnership with the City Government of Marikina, the project benefited 124 members of the homeowner’s association through a community loan provided by DHSUD and SHFC.

Pag-IBIG Fund home loan releases posted double-digit growth in the first half of 2026, with socialized housing financing more than doubling under the Expanded 4PH.

Aliling said the strong results reflect the government’s ongoing efforts to make affordable home financing more accessible, particularly to minimum-wage and low-income Filipinos.

Aliling, who also leads the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, reported that from January to June, socialized home loans extended to minimum-wage and low-income members reached P6.70 billion, up 118 percent from a year ago, while the number of units financed climbed 132 percent to 6,601. Socialized housing loans now account for 15 percent of the agency’s total units financed, underscoring the growing share of low-income borrowers in Pag-IBIG’s overall lending.

Uncertainty ends

For homeowners, receiving their land titles meant finally putting an end to years of uncertainty.

Christina Bautista, president of the homeowners association, recalled the uncertainty they endured for years before finally receiving their land title.

“It’s nerve-racking, isn’t it? At any time, you could be evicted. There was no certainty, no security, right? That’s why I said this is the fulfillment of a dream. This is the assurance that the property is truly ours now, and it’s something we can pass on to our children. The social housing program and the DHSUD have been a tremendous help to us. I’m truly overjoyed. This is it — we’re finally holding our land title,” she shared.