ONLY 63,000 housing units have been constructed under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) program since it was launched in 2022, leaving the agency ‘still far’ from the target of 300,000 units by 2028.
Housing Undersecretary Sharon Faith Paquiz said another 268,453 units fall under indirect assistance programs, which include interest subsidies and preferential loan rates from the Home Development Mutual (Pag-IBIG) Fund.
The cumulative number combines housing projects that are being built and those supported through financial aid to qualified borrowers.
‘We’re still far from the target,’ Paquiz said in Filipino during a news conference on the first day of the National Developers Convention in Makati City.
‘Once SHDA [Subdivision and Housing Developers Association] and other private developers deliver their 250,000-unit commitment, we’ll be much closer,’ she added, referring to the pledges made in July by major real estate groups to support the 4PH program.
Paquiz also emphasized the need to address delays in the housing permit and licensing process, saying that lengthy bureaucratic procedures open opportunities for corruption.
‘Too much delay creates corruption,’ she said. ‘If there is no certain period for the regulatory body to issue or release the required permits or licenses, you will be building this connotation of, ‘How much will it take to have it released?”
She cited instances where developers could not sell housing units because licenses and permits had yet to be released by local governments.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development has adopted a ‘zero corruption tolerance policy’ to curb such practices by imposing time-bound procedures for every step of the application process, from submission to release of permits and licenses.
The 4PH program, launched in 2022, aims to bridge the country’s growing housing backlog, offering low-interest financing and mass housing production across key cities and provinces.