President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. intends to build mid-rise and high-rise housing projects in urban areas, an attempt to revive the housing program initiated by his late father in the 1980s.

During the nationwide turnover of 30,000 housing units to families on Monday, Dec. 5, Marcos has reiterated his intention to revive the Bagong Lipunan Improvement of Sites and Services (BLISS) to house low-income Filipinos in urban areas.

This as he cited the lack of available lands for house and lot projects, particularly in Metro Manila.

"Dati ang konsepto ay bahay at lupa kung maaalala pa ng iba sa inyo...Ngunit lalo na sa mga urban areas wala nang lupa. Mahirap na makahanap ng lupa at siguro mas efficient gagawa tayo ng mid rise na tinatawag (The concept before, if you remember, was house and lot but there are no longer enough lands especially in urban areas. It is now hard to look for lands so it must be more efficient to build mid-rise)," Marcos said in his remarks during the ceremony.

"Kung maaalala ninyo yung project ng BLISS diyan nag-umpisa ang mid-rise na ilang five storeys, six storeys na building. Mukha namang maganda at marami talagang kumuha (If you remember the BLISS project, the building of mid-rise, five-storeys building started there. I think it is good and many could avail of it)," he added, referring to the tenements built within Metro Manila during the time of his late father.

The President, however, said he is also contemplating on whether to keep it mid-rise or high-rise as the demand for housing has risen to 6.5 million.

"Ngunit ngayon dahil mahirap na baka siguro pataasin natin, baka puwede na natin hanggang high rise na (But because it is now hard, perhaps we can build high rise already)," Marcos said as he highlighted the objective to build houses near to people's workplaces.

The chief executive said the concept needs to be studied first as it could be case-to-case, depending on the areas available.

He also vowed that the government including the local government units (LGUs), Department of Human Settlements, National Housing Authority, the legislature, and national government will continue to collaborate to achieve the goal to build one million houses per year.

Marcos has awarded the Certificates of Eligibility of Lot Allocation (CELA) and Transfer of Certificate Titles (TCT) to the beneficiaries at the NHA Project Site in Naic, Cavite.

Aside from low-income families, beneficiaries also include Kapatiran members — former rebels who returned to the folds of the law — as part of the program by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) and the NHA for them to start their life anew and build a better future for their own families.