ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (MANILA BULLETIN)

Is the national government's socialized housing program really meant for the poor? 

This question begs to be answered following the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development's (DHSUD) 2024 budget hearing Tuesday, Aug. 29, when Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar was quizzed by solons for over five-and-a-half hours. 

House of Representatives members learned from Acuzar during the hearing that the monthly housing amortization under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing Program (4PH) costs "P3,500 to P4,300". 

Acuzar said this was the computation for a housing unit worth P1.4 million. The somewhat high figures caught the attention of House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, who noted that the minimum wage in Metro Manila was only P610 a day. 

“Kung titignan po yung presyo ng pabahay, hindi po ito pabahay para sa mga mahihirap (If you look at the cost of the housing, this isn't intended for the poor)," Castro said. 

The Makabayan bloc solon cited as an example the case of informal settlers who struggled to pay a P600 monthly amortization after they were relocated to Southville 7 in Calauan, Laguna. 

“Namomroblema sila dahil marami sa kanila nakaka-receive nang notice of closure dahil kahit na P600 hindi kakayanin yan ng mga mahihirap (A lot of them are worrying because they've received notices of closure for being too poor to pay the P600 amortization),” she said. 

Under the 4PH, the beneficiary will only pay a total of P400,000 from the cost of the housing unit. The loan will be paid in 30 years to the Home Development Mutual Fund with 6 percent annual interest. 

Beneficiaries of the program will only pay 1 percent of the interest, with the remaining 5 percent subsidized by the government. 

Acuzar argued that through the in-city housing program, informal settler families would be able to save enough money to actually cover for the amortization. 

“Yung in-city maganda yan kasi yung cost of living dyan mumura…kung asan yung trabaho at asan yung school andun po sila. Ang malaking bagay po dyan instead na babayaran mo yung pamasahe mo, babayaran mo yung allowances mo, hindi mo na gagastusin yan ibibigay mo na yan sa pambayad ng bahay,” he said. 

(The in-city housing program will lower the cost of living...you'll be at the same location as your work or the schools. That means that you don't need to pay for your commute or spend your allowance, just use the money for the amortization.) 

LPGMA Party-list Rep. Allan Ty, a vice chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, told the DHSUD during the hearing to make sure that poor Filipinos get access to housing. 

“We want to ensure that those who have less in life are supported by government to be able to free themselves from poverty and live in a safe and decent home with their families,” Ty said. The budget hearing was held by the appropriations panel.