The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has disclosed its plans to build more houses in the soonest possible time as it admitted that there are currently a backlog of more than 6.5 million units that it needs to address.
DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said the priority in addressing the housing backlogs informal settler families (ISFs) and those living along danger zones, and eventually address the growing housing gap in the country.
In doing so, Acuzar said their first course of action is to push for the development of 10 priority areas and two urban renewal project sites in major cities and ISF sites along esteros and waterfronts in major urban areas nationwide.
This will be done, according to him, in partnership with local governments and the private sector.
“We crafted plans based on our assessment of the sector. As we can see now, there are two main bottlenecks that we must address to conquer the housing backlog in the country - first is access to funding and second, affordability. That is the direction of our strategies.” Acuzar said.
So far, Acuzar said the department has identified potential areas for the development of sustainable settlements and townships.
He added that they are continuously looking at blighted areas, waterways and high-risk coastal communities currently occupied by ISFs for urban re-development for compact, mixed-use and efficient urban districts, hence promoting urban development.
“We are involving as many players who are capable to help us achieve our ultimate goal to produce and finance quality houses for Filipinos. This is where our partner-developers will come in. We seek the support of our legislative branch to attract the participation of the private sector in government housing programs,” said Acuzar.
“Moving forward, we appeal for the support of the Congress on pushing for the Department’s budget proposal, specifically, the inclusion of P36 billion housing interest subsidy every year which will serve as catalyst of housing production,” he added.