Executive order to boost government's housing program 

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is delighted over the talks of an impending executive order (EO) to be signed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., touted as a huge boost to the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program as it will reserve government idle lands for housing – a key element toward the program’s success.

As reported by Malacañang, the President is set to sign an EO that will mandate various government agencies – particularly the DHSUD, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of the Interior and Local Government – to conduct inventory and identify state-owned idle lands, approximated at 16,000 hectares, that are suitable for socialized housing and rural development projects.

“On behalf of DHSUD, I am delighted with President Marcos’ imminent signing of an executive order that will bring Filipinos closer to their dream of becoming homeowners, ” Secretary Acuzar said.

“Such order will surely boost our efforts to build houses and establish safe and resilient communities across the country, ” he added.

The forthcoming EO will effectively reinforce Section 24 of Republic Act (RA) 11201 which states that lands left idle for more than 10 years and are not held by government-owned and -controlled corporations will be prioritized for housing and urban development purposes. RA 11201 is the law which created the DHSUD in 2019.

“This EO will surely catapult the President’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program to success as land is an important component of this program. In turn, it will be instrumental in uplifting the Filipino family’s morale and quality of life,” Secretary Acuzar continued.

He revealed that DHSUD has identified housing sites in strategic locations around the country which are deemed viable for human settlements. These include government properties that have the potential for land development and housing construction.

In an interview, DHSUD Spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Avelino Tolentino III, for his part, said the use of government lands will be beneficial to the housing program as it may result in lessening the cost of the housing units.

“We have an existing land inventory that we gathered in partnership with local government units. We also have continuing efforts to identify lands owned by national government agencies. Pagsasamahin po natin ang mga listahang iyan, but we already identified possible areas for priority development to jumpstart our implementation,” Assistant Secretary Tolentino said.

Secretary Acuzar has earlier said that the program will prioritize in-city housing sites to ensure the availability of livelihoods for the dwellers. He added that DHSUD is pushing to keep informal settler families already living and working in cities to remain in close proximity to their livelihood as he found that previous public housing projects had been unsuccessful as families refuse to relocate away from cities.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Press Secretary reported that President Marcos is set to meet with financial institutions that could provide funding assistance to the DHSUD.

In the same vein, Secretary Acuzar has also previously tapped financial institutions and other stakeholders in the private sector to fast-track land development.

Under President Marcos’ Pambansang Pabahay para Pilipino Program, the DHSUD is set to build one million housing units annually or six million units by the end of the President’s term.