ALBAY — On May 4, 2026, as ash continued to blanket 87 barangays across Albay province and over a thousand families huddled in evacuation centers, a different kind of relief arrived—one measured not in food packs or water bottles but in deferred payments. The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) ordered all key shelter agencies to impose a moratorium on housing amortization payments in Region 5, effective immediately. For the more than 70,000 families displaced or affected by Mayon Volcano's ongoing unrest, the directive meant that for at least one month, the weight of a monthly housing bill would be lifted, freeing scarce cash for food, medicine, and the quiet work of rebuilding.
The order came directly from DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling, acting on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s directive for a whole-of-government response to the volcanic emergency. Pag-IBIG Fund, the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), and the National Housing Authority (NHA) were instructed to implement the payment freeze as part of broader efforts to assist communities reeling from the thick ashfall that has particularly battered the municipalities of Guinobatan and Camalig. "Ito po ang ambag ng DHSUD at KSAs sa whole-of-government response na iniutos ng Pangulo, upang hindi na muna aalalahanin ng mga apektadong residente ang pambayad sa kanilang amortization," Aliling said.
One Month Without a Bill, One Month to Breathe
The SHFC moved first to operationalise the directive. On the same day, the agency announced a one-month moratorium covering the period from May 2 to June 1, providing temporary financial relief to member-beneficiaries in the affected areas. SHFC President and CEO Federico Laxa framed the measure in terms that acknowledged the hierarchy of needs in a disaster zone. "In moments like these, our priority is to stand with our communities and provide them with the support they need to recover," he said. "The moratorium is a small but meaningful step to help ease their financial burden as they focus on their safety and well-being."
The National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), another DHSUD-attached agency, already had an ongoing payment moratorium for its member-beneficiaries tied to the earlier declaration of a state of energy emergency—a separate relief layer that, while not triggered by the eruption, extends its protective coverage over Bicol families already enrolled in the NHMFC system. The key shelter agencies are expected to issue specific guidelines on the coverage, duration, and repayment terms following the suspension, with loan terms extended accordingly based on the length of the moratorium.
The financial logic behind the moratorium is uncomplicated. A family evacuated from a high-risk barangay in Camalig or Guinobatan is not earning. The ashfall has smothered crops, killed livestock, and suspended the informal economic activities—market vending, tricycle driving, day labour—that generate the cash flow from which housing payments are drawn. By pausing amortisation, the government is effectively acknowledging that a loan agreement signed in peacetime cannot be enforced in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption without compounding the disaster.
A Whole-of-Government Response Across the Housing Sector
Beyond the payment freeze, Secretary Aliling directed the DHSUD Regional Office 5 to closely coordinate with the Office of the Civil Defense and other government agencies to ensure the timely delivery of housing assistance to affected residents. "Nakahanda po ang DHSUD na makipagtulungan sa iba pang ahensya ng gobyerno upang mas maximize po natin ang assistance sa ating mga kababayan, at mapabilis ang paghatid nito sa mga higit na nangangailangan," he said. The coordination mandate positions the housing department not simply as a financier but as an active participant in the disaster response architecture.
The scale of the need is staggering. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported on May 7 that more than 70,000 families—equivalent to over 286,000 individuals—have been affected across Region 5. Of these, 1,132 families or 4,106 individuals remain in 12 open evacuation centers, while others are staying with relatives or in unofficial shelters. The DSWD has distributed 100,257 family food packs, mobilised mobile kitchens to provide hot meals, and released ₱56.86 million in cash-for-work and emergency cash transfer assistance. The housing moratorium slots into this matrix not as a substitute for direct aid but as a stabiliser—a mechanism that prevents a family's temporary displacement from hardening into permanent financial ruin.
Mayon Volcano remains under Alert Level 3, indicating persistent magmatic unrest and the possibility of further explosive eruptions. The six-kilometre Permanent Danger Zone remains strictly enforced. For the families within the evacuation centers—and the thousands more sheltering outside official channels—the housing moratorium is not an abstract policy instrument. It is a month in which the government does not knock on the door, a month in which every peso can be directed toward survival, and a month that may determine whether a household recovers or collapses.
