DHSUD asks for funding guarantees for housing program

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has requested funding guarantees for the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program.

The DHSUD made its requests in a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday at the Malacañang Palace, along with the National Economic and Development Authority and other concerned agencies.

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According to the Presidential Communications Office in a statement, the request for a funding guarantee for the 4PH program aims to increase the confidence of government financial institutions in supporting the program and attract the participation of private banks and institutions.

For his part, Marcos ordered concerned agencies to come up with the figures to assess the risk in granting the sovereign guarantee being requested to implement housing projects.

“Let’s generate those numbers and see what really in terms of real-world cost is going to be — what is the condition really of the market, how easy or how hard is it going to be to turn — for our guarantee to turn these things around. For the interest subsidy,” Marcos was quoted as saying.

“Sige, as soon as you can, para ma-desisyunan na natin ‘to (Do it as soon as you can so we can decide on it). But we’re going to — everybody has to work together on this so that you can agree on the numbers. So, we have working numbers that we have confidence in.  Hindi ‘yung (Not just) arbitrary that we just grab the number out of the air. It has to be based on the historical experience in the housing industry,” he added.

The DHSUD also requested to certify the 4PH bill as urgent and as a priority legislation included in the President’s upcoming State of the Nation Address next month, as well as ensure budget allocation for support facilities like basketball courts and parks.

According to Marcos, he expects the government’s housing programs and projects to impact the country’s economy positively.

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“Even the effect on the economy is going to be terrific ‘pag nagawa natin ito (if we achieve this). Magandang effect talaga sa ekonomiya (It will positively affect the economy).  And that’s why it’s necessary. We have to do this. We have to find a way to do this. We have to be a little creative. Hindi ito standard na ginagawa (We can’t do it in a standard manner),” President Marcos said.