Camarines Sur congressmen has hailed the government's move to widen the scope of the "expanded" Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program by including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and families living in danger zones among the beneficiaries of this mass housing initiative.

Camarines Sur 5th district Rep. Migz Villafuerte and Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luigi Villafuerte said the twin decisions by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to make OFWs eligible for socialized housing units and launch a rental housing project for those staying in danger zones who cannot afford to have their own homes bolster President Marcos’ goal to make his administration’s mass shelter initiative more inclusive and accessible.

Migz Villafuerte, who chairs the House Committee on Information and Communications technology; and Luigi Villafuerte, a deputy majority leader, jointly issued this statement as they pushed for a rental housing subsidy equivalent to a monthly maximum of P3,500 per beneficiary-informal settler family (ISF).

The subsidy will begin when they are made to leave their current dwellings and end when when they are able to transfer to their government-built low-cost homes.

DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling announced recently that OFWs may now qualify for socialized units under the expanded 4PH, regardless of their monthly income.

The Villafuertes said that in including OFWs under the 4PH, President Marcos--through the DHSUD--was not only attending to a basic need that the government aims to address, but was also acknowledging the immense contribution of our migrant workers to nation-building.

In a separate announcement, Aliling said his department was eyeing a rental housing program under the 4PH in partnership with local government units (LGUs) for the benefit of ISFs staying in danger zones. 

A pilot project is being considered by the DHSUD with the Quezon City LGU on relocating ISFs in danger zones, with the first possible site at the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines (UP).

“As the government grapples with the need to provide shelter to  the country’s estimated 3.7 million ISFs, the 20th Congress can best support President Marcos’ goal of providing livable and affordable houses for the millions of homeless Filipino families by passing the proposed Rental Housing Subsidy Program with a monthly aid not to exceed P3,500 for every ISF beneficiary (ISB),” Migz Villafuerte said.

Meanwhile, Luigi Villafuerte said that “The current Congress can make this housing subsidy happen for homeless Filipinos by passing HB (House Bill) No. 1989, which proposes such a system of subsidized rent for ISBs.”

The Villafuertes had authored HB 1989 with Camarines Sur 5th district Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon.

In HB 1989, the four authors noted the United Nations Human Settlements Programme's (UN Habitat) estimate that by 2040, the projected housing needs of the Philippines can soar to 22 million housing units.

“With approximately 3.7 million ISFs in the country, half a million of them in Metro Manila, the intersectional concerns with sanitation, water, waste management, electricity, and health have been aggravated by the severe  lack of adequate and affordable housing,” they said. 

Luigi Villafuerte said that under HB No.1989, “The eligible ISBs among informal settlers shall receive a rental subsidy to address their temporary relocation prior to their actual transfer to their new state-built homes in mass housing sites."

"And the amount of the subsidy, which shall not exceed P3,500 per ISB, shall be based on the prevailing rental rates in the concerned locality and the economic standing and potential of the beneficiary-family.”

The bill provides that the rental subsidy shall not exceed the actual rent, provided that at any time, but not more often than once every two years, this subsidy rate may be reviewed or revised by the DHSUD and NEDA in response to the prevailing economic conditions.

To be eligible for the subsidy, the bill requires ISB families to vacate the informal settlement areas that they are presently occupying and transfer to safe government-authorized areas.