IN his first 100 days with the National Housing Authority (NHA), General Manager Joeben Tai outlined his plans and accomplishments under the Marcos Administration’s “Build Better and More” (BBM) housing program.

Part of his commitment is to award 30,000 housing units to NHA beneficiaries before the year ends. Tai said, “When I assumed my post on August 1, 2022, I promised to build better and more housing for our country’s poor. And true to this commitment, we are set to award 30,000 housing units to low-income families and homeless Filipinos before the year ends.”

Providing immediate assistance to families affected by calamities and natural disasters is also on the list of Tai’s priorities.

Under the leadership of Tai, the NHA has released a total of P2.391 billion in cash aids in Regions I, IX, and the NCR (National Capital Region).

In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the Ilocos Region in July 2022, Tai personally distributed financial assistance to families whose houses were damaged and destroyed.

Through the NHA’s Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP), NHA releases cash assistance amounting to P10,000 for families whose houses were partially damaged and P20,000 for families whose houses were completely destroyed.

On July 27, 2022, GM Tai personally visited the earthquake-devastated Ilocos Sur and Abra provinces and distributed EHAP to the affected families. P263.71 million in financial assistance benefitted 25,989 families in Abra, while a total of P6.85 million in cash aid was released to 679 families in Ilocos Sur.

Tai also distributed EHAP funds amounting to P4.59 million for families affected by a fire raze in Zamboanga City to help 459 families in more than 20 barangays.

To deliver more housing to poor Filipinos, Tai conducted a series of site visits and ocular inspections of NHA housing projects in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao for an inventory of available and completed housing units, as well as ongoing projects. This is also to ensure that the housing projects of the agency meet the demands and needs of its beneficiaries.

The said activities are also aimed at finding other suitable sites for the NHA’s future housing construction and development, according to Tai.

During his 100 days, Tai visited 27 NHA housing project sites in Ilocos Sur, Abra, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Rizal, Cavite, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Zamboanga.

Under Tai’s administration, the NHA has awarded a total of 987 housing units to informal settler families in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, and in Iloilo, officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP), members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG), and urban low-income families affected by the Supreme Court Mandamus in Rizal, Cavite, and Laguna.

With a P2 billion budget appropriation for 2023, Tai pledged to fulfill NHA’s share in addressing the country’s 6.5 million housing backlog.

He said, under his term, the NHA shall build 1.3 million new homes and sustainable communities despite limited funding in partnership with the private sector and local government units.