President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has appointed businessman Jose "Jerry" Acuzar as the new secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).
A video posted on Radio Television Malacanang’s (RTVM) Facebook page showed Acuzar, who succeeded Eduardo del Rosario, taking his oath before the Chief Executive on Friday, July 29.
As a real estate businessman, Acuzar is the chairman of New San Jose Builders, Inc. (NSJBI), the developer of residential and commercial buildings that even included the Philippine Arena in Bulacan--the largest indoor arena in the world.
Acuzar is also the owner of the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, a famous heritage destination located in Bataan.
He is the brother-in-law of lawyer Paquito Ochoa, the executive secretary of the late former President Benigno S. Aquino III.
The DHSUD was created in 2019 via Republic Act (RA) No. 11201. It assimilated the functions of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).
It is the primary government agency for the management of housing, human settlement, and urban development.
Some of the attached agencies if the DHSUD include the National Housing Authority (NHA), the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund, the Social Housing Finance Corporation, and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation.