National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager Joeben Tai approved the distribution of P4.99 million cash assistance to 178 families whose houses were recently damaged or destroyed by two fire incidents in Manila.

The NHA NCR West Sector Office led the release of financial aid in Paco, Manila on November 24, 2022.

Of the total fire-victim families, 172 are from Canonigo St., Brgy. 823, District V, Paco, Manila, whose houses were razed by fire last December 16, 2020.

152 of the 172 families will be awarded P30,000 each, 10 will be given P15,000, and another 10 will receive P10,000 each for a total of P4.81 million.

Meanwhile, the other six families are from Brgy. 584, Sampaloc, Manila and will each receive P30,000 assistance, totaling P180,000. The houses of these families were destroyed by fire last December 30, 2021.

Under the Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) of the NHA, low-income and marginalized families affected by natural or man-made calamities are provided quick cash assistance to help them rebuild their homes and start anew.

The EHAP is one of GM Tai’s priority programs supporting the Build Better and More (BBM) Housing program. Since August 1, 2022, when GM Tai assumed his position, the NHA has disbursed P2.424 billion in EHAP funds.

Apart from the EHAP, an inspection of various NHA housing projects across the country is among the priorities of GM Tai to ensure that all government housing projects under the BBM housing program are decent, affordable, and at par with the housing projects of the private sector, and to look for suitable sites for future housing projects under the Marcos administration.

To date, GM Tai has visited EHAP beneficiaries and local government units in Cavite, Cebu, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Palawan, and Zamboanga.