In line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive for people-centered initiatives, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) held a dialogue on Monday with various stakeholders, including non-government organizations (NGOs), to promote public participation in government housing programs and broaden the range of beneficiaries.
DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling led the discussion with notable figures such as Dr. Nathaniel von Einsiedel, former Metro Manila Commissioner for Planning; Dr. Mary Racelis, former Director of the Ateneo Institute of Philippine Culture; and representatives from various NGOs. The meeting focused on the expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PHX) Program and the promotion of people-centric housing solutions.
“Yan po mismo ang directive ni (That’s the exact directive of) President Marcos Jr. —for us to be more inclusive and people-centric, to cover the mandated beneficiaries of government housing programs which are the poorest of the poor and those in the lower income deciles,” Aliling stated.
He emphasized the expansion of the 4PH program to include various housing modalities such as rental housing and horizontal developments, with plans for incremental housing under consideration. The stakeholders expressed appreciation for the DHSUD’s openness to their input, suggesting additional schemes like the community mortgage program (CMP) and high-density housing (HDH) that involve community participation from project inception to execution.
Since Aliling’s appointment on May 26, he has prioritized the expansion of 4PH to include subdivision-like housing projects and rental options. Three private developers have already committed to providing over 50,000 units under the horizontal 4PHX initiative, and the University of the Philippines-Diliman has expressed interest in collaborating on a rental housing scheme.
Aliling has also instructed the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) to revive its CMP and the National Housing Authority (NHA) to enhance pro-poor housing programs aimed at assisting the poorest communities.
“While we are already pursuing those modalities, rest assured that DHSUD welcomes inputs from all stakeholders for the betterment of our programs, especially those that call for active participation from our beneficiaries from the project conceptualization up to execution,” Aliling concluded.