HUDCC warns against fake 'Libreng Pabahay' program 

The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) on Tuesday warned the public against false rumors about a “libreng pabahay” program. 

In a news release, the HUDCC cited an incident on July 29 when "an unexpected deluge of people queued at the National Housing Authority (NHA) in Quezon City claiming to have heard about a government libreng pabahay program being implemented on a first-come, first-serve basis."

The NHA office issued a clarification on the same day but people continued to flock to that Quezon City branch, the HUDCC said.

The HUDCC clarified that the government only subsidizes the cost of housing for the homeless and underprivileged but it does not  provide housing for free.

HUDCC said, "Dole-out programs have been found to be counterproductive to the social development and economic empowerment of the homeless and underprivileged members of society." 

Text messages about 'free housing'

Meanwhile, the HUDCC said "several texts about free housing care of the vice president have been spreading around."

Vice President Leni Robredo is the country's housing czar.

"Dirty tricks are being played and false rumors are being spread to confuse the public and this may not be the last," the HUDCC said.

The agency urged the public to be vigilant against misinformation and to rely only on official announcements about housing from:

• local government officials;
• Key Shelter Agencies (KSAs) such as HUDCC and NHA;
• Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB);
• Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG);
• Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC);
• Home Guaranty Corp. (HGC),
• and National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC). 

The HUDCC also urged the public to help the government by providing the complete names, contact details, and other relevant information about the persons or groups spreading false rumors.

The HUDCC may be contacted via eag@hudcc.gov.ph or 0917-579-2037. — VVP, GMA News