20/11/2025
𝐍𝐇𝐀 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐄𝐁𝐔 𝐏𝟕𝟏𝟐 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐒
The National Housing Authority (NHA) has approved Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro's request to reinstate the P712 million in housing funds for victims of Super Typhoon Odette.
These funds had been returned to the National Treasury after the NHA and the previous Capitol administration failed to agree on their implementation.
Governor Baricuatro said NHA General Manager Joeben A. Tai called her, upon the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to confirm that the funds will be released to Cebu Province in December this year.
It may be recalled that the governor sent a letter to the NHA general manager on November 18 appealing for the reinstatement of the grant for Cebuanos whose homes were destroyed in December 2021, noting that the new Capitol administration is ready to fully cooperate with the agency and not impose additional guidelines on it.
“As the People’s Governor, I firmly believe that the affected Cebuanos deserve to receive what is rightfully theirs despite the years that had passed,” Gov. Baricuatro said in the letter.
The disagreement between the NHA and the former Capitol leadership arose from differing approaches on how the assistance should be distributed. The NHA’s plan was to directly provide P10,000 to each of the 72,209 qualified households identified by the Office of Civil Defense.
However, the previous administration wanted the provincial government to implement the program and release the assistance through the Dasig Sugbo Card system instead of direct cash payouts.
NHA 7 Manager Engr. Hermes Jude D. Juntilo explained that adopting the province’s proposal would violate the agency’s Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) guidelines, possibly leading to audit issues, accusations of fund misuse, and irregular allocation.
He earlier confirmed that the National Housing Authority NHA Central Office ultimately rejected the Capitol’s request to manage the distribution.
“Our general manager did not allow the province to handle the implementation. In the end, the funds were returned to the National Treasury,” he said.
With her appeal now granted, Governor Baricuatro said she will coordinate closely with NHA 7 to reconcile beneficiary data and ensure the smooth distribution of financial aid to affected families. /𝑪𝑨𝑷𝑰𝑻𝑶𝑳 𝑷𝑰𝑶
𝐍𝐇𝐀 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐄𝐁𝐔 𝐏𝟕𝟏𝟐 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐒
The National Housing Authority (NHA) has approved Gov. Pamela Baricuatro's request to reinstate the P712 million in housing funds for victims of Super Typhoon Odette.
These funds had been returned to the National Treasury after the NHA and the previous Capitol administration failed to agree on their implementation.
Governor Baricuatro said NHA General Manager Joeben A. Tai called her, upon the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to confirm that the funds will be released to Cebu in December this year.
It may be recalled that the governor sent a letter to the NHA general manager on November 18 appealing for the reinstatement of the grant for Cebuanos whose homes were destroyed in December 2021, noting that the new Capitol administration is ready to fully cooperate with the agency and not impose additional guidelines on it.
“As the People’s Governor, I firmly believe that the affected Cebuanos deserve to receive what is rightfully theirs despite the years that had passed,” Gov. Baricuatro said in the letter.
The disagreement between the NHA and the former Capitol leadership arose from differing approaches on how the assistance should be distributed. The NHA’s plan was to directly provide P10,000 to each of the 72,209 qualified households identified by the Office of Civil Defense.
However, the previous administration wanted the provincial government to implement the program and release the assistance through the Dasig Sugbo Card system instead of direct cash payouts.
NHA 7 Manager Engr. Hermes Jude D. Juntilo explained that adopting the province’s proposal would violate the agency’s Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) guidelines, possibly leading to audit issues, accusations of fund misuse, and irregular allocation.
He earlier confirmed that the NHA Central Office ultimately rejected the Capitol’s request to manage the distribution.
“Our general manager did not allow the province to handle the implementation. In the end, the funds were returned to the National Treasury,” he said.
With her appeal now granted, Governor Baricuatro said she will coordinate closely with NHA 7 to reconcile beneficiary data and ensure the smooth distribution of financial aid to affected families. /𝑪𝑨𝑷𝑰𝑻𝑶𝑳 𝑷𝑰𝑶
