House to provide P10-B in subsidies for 4PH beneficiaries

The House of Representatives would set aside at least P10 billion in initial funding to bankroll interest subsidies for the beneficiaries of the government's Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program (4PH).

Speaker Martin Romualdez made the pledge on Tuesday during the site inspection of the 4PH housing project in San Mateo, Rizal, which is set to cater around 4,000 families.

"We calculated at least P10 billion as an initial [subsidies]. It looks like we can obtain that because, as you can see, our budget and appropriations increase yearly," Romualdez said in an ambush interview.

The vow for funding support was in response to Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Acuzar's plea to Congress to provide long-term subsidy interest for the 4PH beneficiaries.

The DHSUD is the lead implementing agency of the 4PH.

"Should Congress [heed our request to provide] interest subsidy, 100 percent of every Filipino will have a house, especially the poor," said Acuzar, who was also in attendance at the site inspection.

The initial P10 billion subsidy interest will double to P20 billion in the upcoming years, with the expected influx of 4PH beneficiaries.

The 4PH, a flagship program of the Marcos administration, aims to construct 1 million housing units annually until 2028 to address the country's 6.5-million housing backlog.

The cost of each housing unit is pegged at around P1.2 million, which can be financed through a 30-year loan from the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund.

The socialized housing project in San Mateo boasts new amenities, such as a basketball court, swimming pool, clubhouse, among others.

According to Romualdez, around 170,000 housing units are currently under construction in Metro Manila, in addition to the thousands of housing units being constructed in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

As of May this year, Acuzar said Pag-IBIG had already released about P761.5 million to private contractors, who are constructing the four 4PH programs in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The project is financially supported by the private sector, with the national government shouldering a 5 percent subsidy.