The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has ordered a moratorium on housing loan payments and mobilized emergency shelter assistance in areas devastated by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao, as the government intensifies relief efforts for affected families.
Following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to expedite aid delivery, DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling instructed the government’s key shelter agencies to immediately roll out a housing loan amortization moratorium for qualified borrowers in quake-hit communities.
The directive covers beneficiaries of the Pag-IBIG Fund, National Housing Authority (NHA), Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), and National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC). Each agency is expected to release separate guidelines detailing eligibility, coverage, and implementation.
The move is aimed at easing financial pressure on families struggling to recover from one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in recent years. The disaster has left dozens dead, hundreds injured, and caused extensive damage to homes, public infrastructure, and businesses across several Mindanao provinces.
At the same time, government shelter agencies have begun deploying field teams and resources to affected areas.
Pag-IBIG Fund dispatched two “Pag-IBIG on Wheels” mobile service units to General Santos City and Dipolog City to assist members seeking emergency services, while NHA personnel were sent to conduct damage assessments and facilitate the release of shelter assistance.
Aliling also ordered the activation of regional shelter clusters and directed DHSUD Regional Office XII to undertake rapid assessments in areas placed under a state of calamity.
The department is coordinating with local government units, the Office of Civil Defense, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, and other agencies to determine the extent of housing damage and identify families requiring immediate shelter support.
The housing loan moratorium and emergency shelter measures form part of the administration’s broader recovery strategy, which seeks to provide immediate relief while helping affected communities rebuild and recover in the aftermath of the disaster.
