The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) stated in its website that housing is a human right because it is “the basis of stability and security for an individual or family. The center of our social, emotional and sometimes economic lives, a home should be a sanctuary—a place to live in peace, security and dignity.” As someone who has spent most of his professional life building houses, I completely agree. As someone who grew up in an impoverished setting in Tondo, Manila where 11 of us—my parents and nine sons and daughters—lived in the second floor of an apartment building, I concur a hundred percent.

This is the reason why owning a house and making it a home is a fundamental aspiration for many Filipinos. According to the 2022 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 62.1 percent of Filipino families own the house and lot they occupy. The PSA also noted that this figure represented an improvement from previous decades; for example, homeownership grew from 58.1 percent in 1985 to 64.5 percent in 1997—particularly in key urban areas such as Metro Manila and Metro Cebu—illustrating a gradual but persistent growth in Filipino homeownership.

But ownership remains difficult as shown by the 2021 Consumer Finance Survey by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which revealed a slight increase in the percentage of Filipino households choosing to rent accommodations—11.3 percent of households renting in 2021 compared to 10.2 percent in 2018. This is partly due to the fact that affordability remains a major hurdle as rising costs of land and housing units have far outpaced income growth.

The right to homeownership is important because having one's own house means families do not have to worry about not having to pay the rent and getting evicted. Ownership also provides a sense of pride. I cannot forget the faces of Filipino families when they get the keys to their new house. This was especially true when I was just starting out as a house builder. I dealt primarily with Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked hard abroad away from their families in order to earn and save enough to build a house they can call their own. I cannot describe to you dear readers how happy they were when they enter their new house that is the product of their blood, sweat and tears, and in which they intend to build a future for their families.

This has been my mission in life. My companies are not just in the business of building concrete dwellings. We consider ourselves as partners of Filipino families in building and securing their future through our quality homes, carefully planned and constructed in the best locations in the country.

One of the projects we recently launched toward this end is Lessandra. The concept behind Lessandra was to become the most practical solution to home ownership in which all our communities are characterized by a balanced combination of style, functionality, convenience, and security. We have developed projects from Tuguegarao City in the north to Cotabato City in the south.

Our vision is straightforward—We work hard to build quality and affordable homes to help every Filipino achieve their dream of having a secured and comfortable life in the safety of their own homes - elevating the lives of every Filipino.

As I write this column, the nation is waiting to hear the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). I hope housing will be part of the priorities of government. I know this is not an “explosive” or “controversial” issue but it is a gut issue. This means that housing, just like inflation, jobs and livelihood, are issues that are directly and strongly felt by Filipino families. Government officials need to focus on this issue by coming up with policies that support Filipino families' full realization of their right to own homes and live decently in their own country.

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