Gov't cuts housing units target from 4M to 3.2M by 2028

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has reduced its target of building one million government housing units per year, officials said Wednesday night.

The slower population growth prompted the department to cut the goal of building four million low-cost homes by 2028 to 3.2 million units, DHSUD Secretary Jerry Acuzar and Undersecretary Avelino Tolentino III said during the agency's presentation of its proposed P6.4 billion budget for 2025.

“Initially, we started with the target na parang one million [houses] per year. And then, now, we have an ongoing updating of the housing needs study. Lumalabas roon na bumaba iyong growth ng population natin so iyong projected housing needs, bumaba po,” Tolentino told lawmakers.

(We started with a one million per year target. But our population growth went down, so the projected housing needs also went down.)

“So now, we are targeting up to 3.2 million [until 2028], pero mataas po kasi yung guarantee and subsidy requirements niya. That number is still being crunched also to determine alin ang kayang i-guarantee at ilan ang kayang subsidize,” Tolentino added, referring to the sovereign guarantee to contractors and a portion of each housing unit’s cost subsidized by the government.

(The sovereign guarantee and subsidy requirements are quite high, so we are still crunching numbers as to how many housing units can be built with the resources available.)

Acuzar, for his part, said he is hopeful that the target will stay at 3.2 million housing units for the next four years.

“’Yung [initial na] 1.2 million [housing units], madi-deliver yun. Naka-pipeline na yun, eh. ‘Yung another 2 million na pinag-uusapan namin...kapag iyong [sovereign] guarantee ay tumuloy-tuloy, baka ituloy na yun ng administration. Pag natuloy po iyong two million, ang magiging target po ay 3.2 million [in the next four years],” Acuzar said.

(The 1.2 million houses...those will come through. It is in the pipeline. The remaining two million, we're discussing it. If the sovereign guarantee remains in place, then this could be pursued and we will be able to build 3.2 million housing units.)

“Kaya po ngayon, pinag-aaralan po namin, dapat matapos na namin ang aming pag-aaral, kasi dapat mag-umpisa na kaming tumanggap ng mga proposal at contractors for the projects,” Acuzar added.

(So we are still studying it, and we should finish it soon because we have to accept proposals from contractors again.)

Back in June, Speaker Martin Romualdez said that the government stands ready to provide a P10 billion per year subsidy for the government’s housing program during the site inspection of a housing program in San Mateo, Rizal. 

The government’s housing program, dubbed the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program or 4PH, has 20 location sites nationwide so far.

The unit price for these housing units ranges from P1.6 to P1.8 million.—LDF, GMA Integrated News