Some contractors have withdrawn from the administration's Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipno Housing (4PH) program due to low profit margins, causing delays in the construction of houses for Filipinos, Malacañang revealed.

"Maliit po kasi ang presyo na ibibigay natin sa taong bayan para i-avail ito kaya ang ibang contractors po ay hindi po sumasang-ayon na makisali or sumama sa gantong klaseng proyekto (The price we are offering the public to avail of this is low, so some contractors do not agree to join or take part in this kind of project)," Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a press briefing on Monday, March 31.

In addition to contractors backing out, Castro identified other causes of delay, permitting, due diligence on site suitability and land ownership, and the lengthy construction period for vertical housing.

"So ito po ay mga issues na hindi po ninanais ng administrasyon (These are issues the government did not want to happen)," she said.

Despite these challenges, Castro, citing information from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), reported progress in the implementation of the 4PH program.

Based on the DHSUD data cited by Castro, there are currently 90 ongoing projects nationwide in various stages of development and construction.

"Ang ilan po dito ay nabuo na po, nagawa na po, at ito yung magje-generate ng total of 259,365 housing units (Some of these are already completed and is expected to generate 259,365 housing units)," she said.

Additionally, 82 projects are in the pre-production stage, with 436 proposals still pending approval.

At least 8,000 housing units are scheduled for turnover this year.

President Marcos has previously acknowledged the ambitious nature of the 4PH target of 1 million housing units per year to address the backlog.

"We are aiming for 1 million homes. One million low-cost and socialized homes a year. It is an ambitious number, but we will try very, very hard," he said in November 2022.