DBP lends P900 million for public housing

MANILA, Philippines — The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has lent P900-million for the construction of public housing in a bid to address the backlog in the country.

DBP has extended the credit assistance to Johndorf Ventures Corp. (JVC), a Cebu-based real estate developer with projects in key cities in Visayas and Mindanao.

JVC is also set to launch commercial-residential estates in Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro.

DBP president and CEO Michael de Jesus said the partnership aims to boost the construction of public housing in a bid to address the widening housing backlog.

The funding is expected to bolster JVC’s drive to build 39,000 housing units by 2025.

DBP will provide JVC with the necessary credit assistance, including working capital requirement for inventory build-up and construction of socialized, economic, and low-cost housing units.

The loan was made under DBP’s Building Affordable Homes Accessible to Every Filipino (BAHAY) Program, which covers the end-to-end process of housing development from land acquisition to site development and shelter construction.

“We aim to make inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and human settlements through responsive financing,” De Jesus said.

The program aims to provide accessible financing to support shelter production and secure tenure delivery, as well as address the gaps in mass housing by providing credit assistance through short-term and long-term financing.

Under the BAHAY program, DBP aims to release a total of P50 billion in loans until 2030.

The loans are specifically for mass and mid-cost housing projects, horizontal and vertical developments, and various shelter types, including houses and lots, duplexes, row houses, and condominiums.

DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country in terms of assets. It provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy namely, infrastructure and logistics, MSME, environment, and social services and community development.