President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the sovereign guarantee for the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program (4PH) of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

This comes following the President’s sectoral meeting with several Cabinet officials at Malacañang on Wednesday.

DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar explained that the sovereign guarantees would be used for the National Housing Authority’s (NHA) and Social Housing Financing Corporation’s (SHFC) developmental loans.

Acuzar added that the guarantees would speed up the building of housing projects under the 4PH and clear up backlogs in residential units.

“We are also looking into that, and that is something we are adjusting because the population trend has changed. From the last census to this census, and with the population projection together with the projection of housing needs, there has been some adjustment,” Acuzar said.

“So, that is something that we are looking at, and in relation to that, we are also adjusting the target, vis-à-vis the capacity of the government to finance the subsidies and also to extend guarantees for the developmental loans,” he added.

The DHSUD chief also said that the approved funding guarantee could be a “game changer,” since the Marcos government has promised to give all Filipinos “decent yet affordable” shelters.

He stressed that speeding up the building of homes is a “big” task for the government because most of the 53 projects going on under the 4PH are being paid for by private groups.

Acuzar said that the government will “develop” the housing units under the new plan.

With the sovereign guarantee, government financing institutions (GFIs) could give the NHA and SHFC developmental loans to build 4PH projects. The government promised to speed up the loan review process and the building of homes.

Marcos also told DHSUD and other related agencies to look into the interest rate subsidies that the government could use to help potential 4PH homeowners with their finances by lowering the costs of amortization.

As part of the plan, the agency will pay a portion of the unpaid interest rate on Pag-IBIG loans. This will lower the interest rate that 4PH borrowers pay on their loans.

The goal of the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Project is to build one million homes every year until 2028. This will help the Philippines get rid of its housing shortage.

When asked about the difficulties they face in building homes, Acuzar previously said that it is hard for them to find empty land where the units can be put up.