Marcos aims to build 1 million low-cost houses annually: ‘We will try very, very hard’

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his administration will “try very, very hard” to achieve its ambitious goal to build 1 million low-cost housing units every year until the end of his term.

On the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Thursday morning, Marcos met with Cambodian business leaders for a roundtable discussion where the President pointed out that the Philippines is facing a shortfall of about 6 million housing units.

“That is why we have taken on a very aggressive housing program,” he told Cambodian business leaders. “We are aiming for 1 million homes, 1 million low-cost and socialized homes a year. It is an ambitious number but we will try very, very hard.”

According to Marcos, the plan is to build a house and a community because “otherwise it is not practical for people to live there.”

Marcos then outlined the importance of providing transportation to sites like schools, workplaces, marketplaces, and other community hubs.

Last September, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) launched the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program, which aims to address the country’s housing backlog by building safe, decent, and sustainable houses.

The administration has a very ambitious housing agenda, according to Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that the task was achievable.

READ: Gov’t pledges 1 million homes every year

But the DHSUD has warned that if the Marcos administration’s housing program fails to get adequate funding, the country’s housing backlog may hit 11 million units by 2028.

/abc