President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) program master plan supports the development of smart cities, specifically its component on township development.

This was highlighted by Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar in his keynote speech during a Business Forum in Cebu on Friday.

Secretary Acuzar discussed "The Prospect of Smart Cities: From a Real Estate Perspective", which he regarded timely and relevant as the Department pushes to elevate the living conditions of the Filipino people through decent shelters in sustainable communities through the 4PH.

"In the parlance of a government agency such as ours, it can only mean enhancing the quality of life of our fellow Filipinos through innovations and technological solutions in the housing, human settlements, and urban development sectors," Secretary Acuzar said.

Recognizing the advent of technologies available at the government's disposal, he similarly acknowledged the significance of bringing these together to potentially make life more comfortable than ever, and sustainable for future generations.

The housing czar explained the essence of developing smart cities – to bring forward the vision of improving the quality of life in urban areas where it matters most. He said this can be achieved through maximizing land uses, efficiently using our valuable resources, delicately balancing and promoting our open spaces and connecting them through networks, and investing in and adopting appropriate technological breakthroughs that will translate into realizing the cities' or housing communities' purpose for its local inhabitants and the general public.

"It sounds pretty complicated as it is indeed complicated. Establishing smart cities would entail weaving various social, economic, geographical as well as political components into a net of strategies capturing urban development," Secretary Acuzar said.

He cited the Digital Cities Index (DCI) 2022, developed by the Economist Impact and supported by the Nippon Electric Company. The assessment considers four key pillars, namely, digital connectivity, services, culture, and sustainability to assess the extent and impact of digitization in 30 global cities.