By Faye P. Velasco, PNA and U.S. News Agency / Asian

The second phase of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s housing project for the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be located in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chair Jejomar C. Binay announced the planned projects during the Pabahay Caravan held in Tacloban City on Thursday.

“Ito’y proyekto mismo ng ating Pangulong Noynoy Aquino. At ang phase 2 ay dito sa Visayas at Mindanao natin ipatutupad,” the housing czar said.

Binay said the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the AFP/PNP housing boards are looking for sites where phase II could be implemented. The boards have proposed Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and Zamboanga as possible housing sites.

President Aquino issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 9 on April 11, 2011 ordering the NHA to formulate, implement and manage housing projects for 20,000 military and police personnel.

The program, which was launched last May, aims to produce 21,800 housing units within the year, with about 5,000 units under construction.

The AO also directed the Department of Budget and Management to give priority attention to fund the P4.2 billion housing program.

In less than two months after the program was launched in Bocaue, Bulacan, President Aquino will be leading the awarding of Certificate of Lot Awards to qualified military and police personnel at the Lake Breeze Residences, Barangay Looc in Calamba City, Laguna on Friday.

To date, the AFP/PNP housing boards have received around 19,000 applications to avail of the program.

NHA said it expects that the demand for housing of the military and the police will even exceed the 20,000 units target which President Aquino announced earlier.