The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) on Tuesday made a request to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. regarding the issuance of funding guarantees for the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program.
According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the guarantee aims to increase the confidence of government financial institutions in supporting the program, and to attract the participation of private banks and institutions.
The agency also wants to certify the housing bill as urgent and as a priority legislation, which would be included in the President’s upcoming State of the Nation Address. This is to ensure budget allocation for support facilities such as basketball courts and parks.
When it comes to the sovereign guarantee being requested by DHSUD to implement housing projects, Marcos said he wants concerned agencies to come up with the numbers to assess the risks.
“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 said.
“Sige (Okay), as soon as you can para ma-desisyunan na natin ‘to. 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 arbitrary (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.
Marcos is also expecting that the government’s ambitious housing programs and projects will create a positive impact on the national economy.
He also said the national housing thrust must be sustained to address the country’s shelter gap.
Marcos met Tuesday with officials of the DHSUD, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and other concerned agencies at the Malacañang Palace. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
