APART from quality and quantity of shelters, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Program strongly bats for sustainability by embracing smart and green community concepts.

Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar is well aware that the housing sector faces not only the challenges of addressing the country’s 6.5 million housing gap but the hazards of climate change as well.

Thus, the DHSUD welcomed the introduction of latest technology, like utilization of solar and other renewable energy, to housing projects under the flagship “Pambansang Pabahay.”

An example of integration of new technology to 4PH projects is the proposal of First Dynabloc Construction and Development Corporation, in collaboration with the San Rafael, Bulacan for the local government unit’s (LGU) shelter project in Barangay Caingin.

The San Rafael Housing Project, composed of 3,920 residential units on a seven-hectare development site, is touted as the first fully sustainable integrated housing project in the Philippines, incorporating latest technologies for renewable energy into its design.

The proposed plans feature solar and wind energy sources, water generating system, an integrated waste management system and transport innovations.

In the presented architectural and site development plans, a PowerNEST system shall be installed on rooftops of residential buildings. The system generates renewable energy for beneficiaries using both solar and wind power and is said to be more efficient without producing noise, vibrations or any other disturbance.

The design shall also introduce a patented atmospheric water generation system known as the “GEN-L” which can efficiently produce pure drinking water from the humidity in the surrounding air. It has a built-in multi-barrier air filtration system which removes micro-particles and organic traces and adds essential minerals.

Moreover, GEN-L only requires electricity to function and is already being used in military bases, villages, hospitals and off-grid settlements around the globe.

Air ventilation, garbage chutes on each residential floor and waste management facilities which are carbon emission conscious shall also be provided, along with areas for public transportation utilizing electronic shuttles.

Acuzar said that such technology boosts the Department’s commitment to ensure development of sustainable communities, as mandated by Republic Act 11201.

“Pambansang Pabahay is not just about quantity and quality of housing, it also adopts new and green technologies to promote sustainability.

More than just reaching our targets, we, at DHSUD, aim to improve the quality of living so we see to it that the communities we develop are sustainable. This is why we keep our doors open for collaboration and innovations,” Secretary Acuzar stressed.

“Hopefully, these innovations presented to us will come into fruition…to set higher standards in our housing sector,” he added.