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10 more LGUs to help DHSUD build 1M houses every year

November 27, 2022 Jun I. Legaspi 290 views

TEN more local government units (LGUs) have signed up to be partners of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) in its mission to build one million houses every year under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program.

This brings to 28 the total number of LGUs which already signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with DHSUD – – formalizing their intent to pursue housing projects in their respective areas.

Of the 28 LGUs, 11 have already broken ground including the cities of Quezon and Marikina in the National Capital Region.

Among the latest LGU-enrollees are Bohol province, the cities of Mandaue and Tagbilaran; Panglao, Bohol, and six towns from the provinces of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro.

DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar noted that the overwhelming support of the LGUs indicates that the housing program is on the right track.

“With the President’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program, I know we are off to a good start. I can see this program as the embodiment of the dream of every Filipino family wanting to have a house of their own,. We aim to make this dream a reality in the next six years of this administration,” said Acuzar.

Acuzar stressed the LGUs play a very important role in the program from the planning stages up to the actual turn over and maintenance. The LGUs also play an active role in identifying idle government lands that can be tapped for the government’s housing program, he added.

“Under this program, we are introducing an innovative framework which will ease the burden brought by two major bottlenecks in housing production and finance – affordability and access to funds. We are now exploring out-of-the-box concepts and financial structures which could potentially be the breakthrough strategies to arrest the homelessness woes in the country,” he said.

“The LGUs play a vital role from the conceptualization of the project up to identification of beneficiaries and more importantly the sustainability of the program,” the housing czar further explained.

Under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program, DHSUD is tasked to build 1 million houses annually in the next six years to address the country’s housing backlog pegged at more than 6.5 million units.

“ Our target is bold yet achievable because we are not doing it alone. From the time we started, I am very delighted with the outpouring of support that we are getting from our stakeholders both in the public and private sectors. It gives us the confidence that we are on the right track,” said Acuzar.

Apart from forging partnerships with the LGUs, the DHSUD has also engaged government financial institutions and private banks to provide funding support and technical assistance on the financial aspect, noting their help will be instrumental in realizing the capital and loan requirements of the program.

DHSUD is proposing a P36 billion annual interest support to ensure affordability of housing units under the program. Acuzar has already sought the support of both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the allocation.

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