MANILA, Philippines -- The Department of Education (DepEd) has begun a housing program for public school teachers who do not own homes.

Project Shelter is a partnership between the DepEd with the Pag-IBIG Fund, local government units (LGUs), and the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) Habitat for Humanity and Gawad Kalinga.

Habitat for Humanity and Gawad Kalinga will assist in constructing houses and a preschool in the locations identified under Project Shelter.

A pilot site is being built on a five-hectare lot in Daet, Camarines Norte for about 150 housing units.

Caloocan City and Davao City are also being eyed for possible housing sites.

DepEd Assistant Secretary for Special Projects Jonathan Malaya told INQUIRER.NET that their data showed about 120,000 public school teachers either rent houses or live with relatives.

"DepEd wants to give teachers a chance to own property for themselves and their families," he said.

Malaya explained that the program will allow teachers to get a Pag-IBIG housing loan of up to P300,000, which can be paid over 30 years with an annual interest of only six percent.

He added that beneficiaries of Project Shelter will have one of the lowest monthly amortizations of only P2,000, with no need for collateral or equity. "This is because they're only paying for the houses to be built. The land is essentially donated by the partner LGU."

On the other hand, there are requirements for applicants to the project, one of which is that they must have a minimum net monthly take home pay of P5,000.

"They should have no outstanding loan from any government agency, including Pag-IBIG and the Government Service Insurance System. They must also be permanent residents of the LGU where the project site is being built."

Malaya admitted that not all teachers may become beneficiaries, given the limited number of locations for Project Shelter. However, he said DepEd is already working on its proposal for Congress to increase the salaries of teachers.

A starting public school teacher would have a salary grade of 10, equivalent to P9,939 and a Master Teacher V would have a salary grade of 29, equivalent to P25,333.

"DepEd is approaching it holistically by providing for teachers their most immediate concerns particularly housing and salary," Malaya said.