Overseas Filipino workers are crediting a government housing program for helping them secure homes after years of working abroad, calling it a milestone in their efforts to provide stability for their families.
Rosemarie Libanan, who has worked in Saudi Arabia for 18 years, said she is looking forward to returning home to see her first house, located at Crystal Peak Estates in Pampanga, one of the projects under the government’s Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program.
Libanan said her family had long struggled to afford a home due to high monthly costs. After learning about the project, she applied through the Pag-IBIG Fund and received approval, with relatives in Pampanga helping monitor the property.
“I hope when we return this year, we can finally visit it,” she said, noting the development’s accessibility and benefits for her family even while she remains overseas.
In Nueva Ecija, Sharon Joy Capyo, whose husband works in Japan, also described the program as life-changing after her family received a unit at the Palayan City Township Project.
“We’re happy to finally have our own home,” Capyo said, adding that they had previously lived with relatives. She expressed gratitude to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying the program made homeownership affordable for families like hers.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), working with the Pag-IBIG Fund, has prioritized overseas workers by exempting them from salary caps and offering subsidized interest rates of 3 percent, making loans more accessible.
Housing Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling said the initiative reflects the president’s directive to make housing “more affordable, faster and more accessible” for all Filipinos, including overseas workers.
“Through the Expanded 4PH, we are giving them the opportunity to experience the fruits of their sacrifice — a home of their own,” Aliling said.
The government continues to expand the program nationwide, aiming to provide safe and affordable housing to more Filipinos. For many overseas workers, officials say, the initiative represents more than shelter — it fulfills a long-standing goal of securing a permanent home for their families.
