BACOLOD CITY: Mayor Raymund Tongson of Himamaylan City is exploring collaborative opportunities with the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) for the construction of a socialized housing project in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.

Tongson recently met with NHMFC President Renato Tobias to tackle the possibility of forming a partnership to finance the construction of 500 duplex-type housing units in Barangay 3-Poblacion.

The project is intended as a housing project for government employees, the mayor said.

On February 8, Himamaylan City officials and NHMFC representatives conducted a site inspection of the project.

Tongson is optimistic a partnership can be forged.

"This collaboration will certainly recognize our government employees' dedication to providing quality service to the people of Himamaylan," he said.

On February 15, the mayor also visited the MRTahanan project site at Gawad Kalinga, Barangay 3-Poblacion.

The P4-billion MRTahanan project is in partnership with the Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development and aims to provide homes to 3,000 families.