The government will make Pambansang Pabahay even bigger

DSG | The government will make Pambansang Pabahay even bigger | MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. promised on Monday to expand the government’s flagship “Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Housing Programme” (4PH) to help millions of homeless Filipinos find cheap housing.

Marcos said in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City, “We will continue to expand our affordable housing programme, especially for our poor countrymen.”

“We have broken ground in two to five places in different parts of the country. Even more plans are being made to get projects going at the same time in the same place! If we finish this, we’ll be able to give a million homes to our friends and neighbours all over the land. We’ve already started in 25 different places. We have already signed the contracts to get projects going in more than a hundred places. “If we add them all up, we’ll be able to give our countrymen more than a million homes,” he said.

The 4PH programme, which started in September of last year, aims to meet the country’s 6.5 million housing needs by building 1 million units each year until 2028.

According to data, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has made memorandums of understanding with 155 local government units around the country and has started building 28 housing projects as of June 30.

In April, the President said that his government is building 1.2 million new homes right now.

People say that these projects will create model towns that will not only give people a place to live but also help them grow socially and economically.

The flagship housing project will not only give families a place to live, but it is also projected to create about 1.7 million jobs every year from 2023 to 2028.

Approach that includes the whole government and society as a whole

Marcos, on the other hand, stressed that a “whole-of-nation and whole-of-society approach” is the only way to solve a social problem like the housing problem in the Philippines.

“Collaboration is the key: between and among government offices, between government and the private sector, between businesses and universities, and between government and foreign partners. And most importantly, cooperation between and among our people,” he said.

“We need the help and expertise of the whole government and the whole country,” the President said.

The whole-of-nation method is shown in Executive Order 34, which Marcos signed on July 17. This order made the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Programme his administration’s flagship programme to make sure the affordable housing initiative worked.

As the main government body in charge of housing and human settlements across the country, DHSUD will be in charge of putting 4PH into action.

Under EO 34, all national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs), and other government organisations are told to give the DHSUD their full support and cooperation.

Kindness for the poor

DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar had previously praised President Marcos’ EO 34 as “a pro-poor measure that could make a big difference in dealing with homelessness.”

EO 34 also gives the DHSUD the power to find national and local government lands that are “suitable for housing and human settlements, including new townships and estates, in coordination with concerned government agencies and local government units (LGUs).”

Acuzar said that giving unused government land for housing would help the 4PH programme that is already being used all over the country and would help poor Filipinos, families who live in informal settlements, and people who are homeless directly.

“This proves that the heart of our great President Ferdinand Marcos is with the poor Filipinos,” he said.

President with a lot of hands-on experience

Acuzar also said that President Marcos is very focused on and involved in watching how the 4PH is doing.

He said that the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) has been asking the DHSUD for updates on housing projects almost every week.

He said that the President’s tireless efforts to check ongoing housing programmes and attend groundbreaking ceremonies all over the country show that he cares about the welfare of homeless Filipinos through the 4PH Programme.

“PBBM’s dedication, which we’ve seen in person, keeps pushing us at DHSUD to do our best. “I can’t say enough about how important this is for boosting our spirits so we can better serve the Filipino people,” Acuzar said.

But President Marcos is most excited about the day he will open the finished houses and give them to the people who will live in them.

Marcos made this clear on July 3, when he visited the 4PH project site in San Fernando, Pampanga.

“There have already been many groundbreaking events. The site inspection is part of the process to make sure that the Philippine Government Homes for Filipinos will be built. (We have already had a lot of groundbreaking events. “This site inspection is just one step in making sure that the 4PH is put into place,” he said in his speech.

“I shook hands with the head of DHSUD, Kalihim, and told him, ‘Let’s break ground, just in case that’s where it stops.'” I told him, “No, don’t bring us there when we see someone so you can see that there really is someone there.” I was making fun of our good DHSUD secretary, so I told him, “We’re always breaking new ground, so it might end up being that.” He said, “No, if we already have something to show, I will take you there so you can see that they are really being built.” It seems like he’s being honest.” (via PNA)