The grand plan to address the over 6.5 million housing backlog in the country is already there.
The problem, however, is the stable funding to start it.
The Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD) said it needs P36 billion to jumpstart the construction of the first one million of the country's backlog in housing.
While there have been commitments from various government agencies and other stakeholders that include financial institutions, the question on whether or not the program is doable in the next six years still remains.
But DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said one thing for sure is that there will be positive impacts in economic activities once it goes full blast in the construction.
First, Acuzar said the government's housing program can trigger economic activities in 80 allied industries of the housing sector, which would eventually lead to economic pump-priming potentials of the housing and real estate sector.
“The housing and real estate industry is a vital economic pump-primer due to more than 80 allied industries attached to the housing sector,” Secretary Acuzar said.
Citing the department's data, Acuzar said among the top 10 out of 80 industries that could benefit from the housing program once fully implemented include steel and metal manufacturing, cement, veneer and plywood, refined petroleum producers, sawmills and wood and wholesale/retail businesses.
"Once tapped, the potential of these industries can contribute to the economic growth of our country," he said.
Second, Acuzar said the aggressive and full-blown housing program would create an estimated 1.7 million jobs.
This is based on the estimate that about eight workers are needed to construct a housing unit within a certain period of time.
Third, the additional jobs that would be created would mean reinforcement of the spending power of the labor sector that would benefit from the construction of housing units.
And last, decent houses for informal settlers and those under the low income bracket serves as a morale booster for them since among the top dreams of every Filipino family is to have a house of its own.
The DHSUD under President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos is targeting to build one million housing units every year in the next six years to address the country’s housing backlog.
The President himself has been at the forefront of generating a stable support system for the housing program through meetings with government financial institutions and even private banks.
For its part, the DHSUD has been meeting with local government units and other stakeholders for the same purpose.
To date, the DHSUD has conducted groundbreaking ceremonies in several areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao .