Noting the "terrific" impact of enough housing to the economy, President Marcos directed agencies anew to sustain efforts in addressing the country's housing gap.
During a sectoral meeting with officials of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) on Tuesday, June 18, Marcos said the national housing thrust must be sustained to address the country’s shelter gap.
He expects that the government’s ambitious housing program would create a positive impact on the national economy.
“Even the effect on the economy is going to be terrific pag nagawa natin ito (if we are able to do this)," Marcos said.
"Magandang effect talaga sa ekonomiya (It will have a good effect on the economy). And that’s why it’s necessary. We have to do this. We have to find a way to do this. We have to be a little creative,” he added.
During the meeting at Malacañan, DHSUD made several requests on the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program such as the issuance of a funding guarantee which aims to increase the confidence of government financial institutions in supporting the program and attract participation of private banks and institutions.
The agency also wants to certify the 4PH Bill as urgent and as priority legislation included in the President’s upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) next month, as well as ensure budget allocation for support facilities like basketball courts and parks.
As to the sovereign guarantee being requested to implement housing projects, the President wants agencies to come up with the numbers to assess the risks.
“Let’s generate those numbers and see what really in terms of real-world cost is going to be --- what is the condition really of the market, how easy or how hard is it going to be to turn --- for our guarantee to turn these things around. For the interest subsidy,” he said.
“Sige as soon as you can para ma-desisyunan na natin ‘to (so we can come up with a decision). But we're going to --- everybody has to work together on this so that you can agree on the numbers. So, we have working numbers that we have confidence in. Hindi yung arbitrary that we just grab the number out of the air. It has to be based on the historical experience in the housing industry," he further stated.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and other concerned agencies were also in the meeting.