DAR, LGU PREPARE FOR BALAI HOUSING PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
DAR-LGU PARTNERSHIP. (From left to right) Umingan Municipal Mayor Michael Carleone M. Cruz, DAR Pangasinan PARPO II Maria Ana B. Francisco, and DAR Regional Office I Director Primo C. Lara further solidify their partnership for the implementation of BALAI Housing Program.
After meeting with key agencies earlier this month, officials from Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Central Office, Regional Office, Provincial Office and Umingan LGU go on-field to conduct an ocular inspection of the site for the BALAI Housing Program.
The lot in Brgy. Carayungan Sur, donated by the municipality, stretches for two hectares and is expected to house at least 184 housing units, in addition to livelihood components such as a solar-powered irrigation system and a backyard garden/bio-digester.
GREENER HOUSES. The Board of Directors of Umingan-based D'Plowman Multipurpose Cooperative attend the virtual project briefing of BALAI BERDE.
Simultaneous to this inspection is the virtual project briefing of BALAI BERDE of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), a program that finances green and climate-conscious housing projects. DAR representatives and members of the board of directors of Umingan-based D'Plowman Multipurpose Cooperative, the department's partner organization for BALAI, attend the meeting from the DAR provincial office in Urdaneta City.
DAR is targeting to bring in agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and their families into the housing community by this year. The BALAI is the country's first housing program that is made specifically for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs). BALAI, which stands for Building Adequate, Livable, Affordable, and Inclusive, makes housing more affordable for farmers—with each unit costing P300,000.00, and an interest of only 2% per annum.
On December 2020, the Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD) and DAR signed a memorandum of agreement that officially launched the housing program in Umingan. (ZA/ARPT)
