What is the OFW Pabahay Program?

The OFW Pabahay Program is another term for the Tahanan ng Bagong Bayani program (TBB) led by the Philippine National Housing Authority (NHA) with the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE). Its goal is to provide Filipinos working outside the country with affordable homes in the Philippines.

Owning a home is a dream for many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who work abroad to provide for their families in the homeland. However, the prices of houses can make the path to home ownership a challenging one.

With the OFW Pabahay Program, OFWs have a better chance of finding a reasonably priced dream home from several housing projects around the country.

The TBB program (or OFW Pabahay Program) offers OFWs affordable housing options in the Philippines. These homes come from the inventory of the Government Employees Housing Program (GEHP).

According to the Government Employees Housing Program’s official website, this NHA initiative aims “to provide decent, affordable housing to uniformed personnel including members of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), and other Government Employees.”

In 2021, the NHA added OFWs as beneficiaries of this program.

Under the GEHP, government employees and OFWs can choose from five housing options:

• One-storey duplexes
• Two-storey duplexes
• Low-rise building condominium units
• Medium-rise building condominium units
• High-rise building condominium units

A home’s lot size is at most 150 square meters with a 60-square-meter floor area. The interiors consist of two bedrooms, a full bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, and a parking space.

Meanwhile, condo units measure between 36 to 42 square meters.

In effect since 2011, the GEHP completed its first project in 2018, turning over the first 500 of 1,000 homes in Scout Ranger Ville in San Miguel, Bulacan. Since then, the program has completed three other projects:

• Madayaw Residences – 640 condominium units in Davao del Sur
• Santa Monica Homes – 400 homes in Ilocos Norte
• Christine Villas – 1,000 homes in Lanao del Norte

The GEHP has other ongoing projects around the country, including La Union, Bataan, Batangas, Pampanga, Negros Occidental, Zamboanga, and Davao City. Click here to see what projects are on the way to you.

You are eligible to apply for a home under the OFW Pabahay Program if you are an OFW that meets the following criteria:

• You are 65 years old or younger when you submit your application.
• You are at most 70 years old when your loan reaches maturity or at the end of your payment period.
• Your NHA account is up to date (if applicable).

If you are a former OFW, you can still qualify for the program if you can provide proof of income along with the other documentary requirements.

When you submit your TBB program application, ensure that you have the following papers:

• Your accomplished Application to Purchase House and Lot Form
• A copy of your Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) or a work contract from the Department of Migrant Workers
• A certificate of compensation from your employer or your income tax return certified by the Bureau of Internal Revenue
• Two (2) valid government-issued identification cards
• Your birth certificate
• Your marriage certificate (if applicable)
• Your Affidavit of Separation-in-Fact (if applicable)

With your documents complete, here is how you can apply to the TBB program online:

1. Visit the GEHP official website at gehp.nha.gov.ph.
2. On the menu bar, click “How to Apply.”
3. Scroll down and click the button under “Ready to Apply.”
4. Choosing from the options that appear, click “Overseas Filipino Worker” to open the correct application form.
5. Fill out the application form and attach the scanned copies of the required documents.
6. Review your details.
7. Click the option proving you are not a robot.
8. Click “Submit.”

If you would rather submit your application in person, click here to download the OFW application form. Fill it out and have it notarised before submitting your application and other requirements to your nearest NHA office or the implementing regional or district office of your chosen housing project.

Once you have submitted your application, check your email regularly for any updates from the NHA. If approved, you should receive a Notice of Allocation. After you have been approved for the program, you can schedule a turn-over date for your home.

If qualified, OFWs can purchase a TBB home in three ways:

To purchase a TBB home in cash, the OFW must first enter into an individual loan agreement with the NHA.

The OFW can pay for a TBB home in 12 equal monthly instalments with no interest. Payments start after they sign a sales contract with the NHA. After they complete their payments, the OFW will sign a Deed of Sale, which means they now own the house.

If you choose this option, remember that each payment missed will lead to a 0.5% penalty. Failure to complete your payments means you will forfeit all the payments you were able to make to the NHA.

For an OFW who needs more time to pay for their home, applying for a housing loan from the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) or Landbank is an option.

If you qualify for the TBB program and opt to take out a mortgage on your new home, you can choose to take out a loan with Pag-IBIG or with a government financing institution like Landbank.

To help you with your research, we’ve crafted this table comparing the requirements and features of the Pag-IBIG Housing Loan and Landbank’s Bahay para sa Bagong Bayani (3B) lending program:

If you opt to apply for the Pag-IBIG Housing Loan, follow these steps:

1. Gather the pre-approval documentary requirements. These are:

2.Fill out the application form and submit your requirements via the Virtual Pag-IBIG website. Submit the hard copies to your nearest Pag-IBIG Housing Business Centre or Pag-IBIG Fund Branch.
3.Once approved, Pag-IBIG will send you a Notice of Approval (NOA) and a Letter of Guaranty (LOG). They will direct you to where to pick up these documents.
4.You have 90 calendar days to gather and submit the post-approval documents listed in your NOA.
5.After submitting your final requirements, expect your loan in 10 working days.
6.Begin repaying your loan one month after its release.

If you choose to take out a loan from Landbank’s 3B program, gather the following documents:

• A 1” x 1” ID photo
• A copy of your employment contract
• A photocopy of your TCT or CCT
• A photocopy of the property’s tax declaration 
• A copy of the property’s latest real estate tax receipt
• Certification from a Geodetic Engineer
• The property’s lot plan
• A map to the property

Once you have completed your requirements, fill out Landbank’s online application form and follow the instructions.

Do you still have some queries? Visit our blog on frequently asked questions about the OFW Pabahay Program or TBB.

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