CA confirms Acuzar as housing chief

Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar has expressed his gratitude to the Commission on Appointments (CA) for the confirmation of his ad interim appointment on Tuesday.

In less than an hour of deliberation, Secretary Acuzar’s nomination was confirmed by the CA panel headed by Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito. It was the fastest confirmation by the 19th Congress, according to Camaries Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte (2nd District).

The 12-man House of Representatives contingent, led by Villafuerte, waived questioning during the straightforward confirmation proceedings and expressed full support to Secretary Acuzar.

“I am deeply humbled and grateful to all the members of the Commission on Appointments for trusting me to lead the housing sector,” Secretary Acuzar said.

“I am grateful and honored for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s trust and confidence,” he added.

Since assuming the DHSUD top post five months ago, Secretary Acuzar has been unrelenting in his efforts to address the housing gap by building 1 million houses per year for the next six years through PBBM’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program.

“The challenge to close the housing gap is daunting building 1 million housing units per year. Most find this ambitious, five times the average of previous administrations, but this is possible as long as we unite and work together,” Secretary Acuzar said.

“Five times the average—I also commit to work five times harder to achieve this,” he added.

The housing czar likewise thanked the officials and employees of DHSUD and its key shelter agencies for their hard work despite the odds.

“We introduced a new and innovative approach to fulfill our President’s commitment to provide a home for every Filipino family. As I always say, this is not easy but I am very grateful to the men and women of DHSUD—all our officials and employees—who I know are exhausting all efforts just to make things happen to ensure the housing program’s success,” Secretary Acuzar said.

The housing czar also assured that he will do all that he can to ensure the housing sector’s best service for the Filipino people.

“This is a huge responsibility entrusted to us by the President, the CA and the Filipino people and I vow to do all that I can to usher the flagship housing program to success, first and foremost, to ensure that all our kababayans will have decent yet affordable homes of their own,” he added.