47 local gov’ts offer to host 6M housing projects

SOCIALIZED HOUSING Aerial view of low-cost housing units at the National Housing Authority project site in Barangay Calubcob in Naic, Cavite, in December. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO

Forty-seven local governments have entered into agreements with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to be the initial locations of President Ferdinand Marcos’ ambitious 6-million unit housing program, Malacañang said on Sunday.

Citing the year-end report of the DHSUD, the Palace said that as Dec. 22, 2022, the agency has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with eight provinces and 29 cities and towns.

Under the MOUs, the DHSUD and local governments “will identify blighted areas for development, purchase or pursue expropriation of private properties occupied by informal settler families (ISFs), facilitate the in-city or on-site development of government-owned properties with ISFs, and identify beneficiaries of the housing project.”

To address the country’s housing woes, the administration kicked off its flagship housing program aimed at constructing over 6 million houses for some 30 million Filipinos.

The Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program aims to construct 6.15 million housing units over the next six years and transform informal settlements into prime residential sites and waterfronts and rehabilitate esteros, according to the administration’s 2022 year-end report.

Groundbreaking

Among the features of the program are incity resettlement, high-density/vertical housing in highly urbanized areas, utilization of idle government lands and support of government financial institutions (GFIs) and private banks to provide loans and end-user financing, among others.

Meanwhile, the DHSUD and GFIs, including the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines also signed an MOU on Dec. 21 to collaborate on funding strategies and allocation of financial, technical and operational resources for the 4PH.

Project construction has already begun in various locations across the country.

Groundbreaking ceremonies for the first housing projects have been held in 15 local governments: Quezon City; Marikina City; Mariveles, Bataan; Palayan City, Nueva Ecija; Carmona, Cavite; Tanauan City, Batangas; Mandaue City, Cebu; Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Roxas City, Capiz; Iloilo City; Sta. Barbara, Iloilo; Victorias City, Iloilo; Carles, Iloilo; Tagbilaran City, Bohol; and Iligan City, Lanao del Norte. INQ

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