President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has appointed Jose Ramon Aliling, CEO of Jose Aliling Construction Management, as the new housing czar, following a major Cabinet reshuffle, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced Friday.

Aliling previously served as undersecretary at the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), where he headed the flagship Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) housing initiative and the Pasig River “Bigyang Buhay Muli” revitalization project. He is also a recipient of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award for Civil Engineering.

He succeeds Jose “Jerry” Acuzar, founder of New San Jose Builders, Inc., who has been designated as the new Presidential Adviser for Pasig River Rehabilitation.

Acuzar is the brother-in-law of former Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, who was a law partner of First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, who has spearheaded the Pasig River rehab project.

Asked why the leadership change at DHSUD was made, Bersamin pointed to performance concerns, suggesting that Acuzar had set high expectations for himself.

“You can’t really call it underperformance, but rather under delivery. You know, he set very high standards for himself when he accepted the job. But he was very efficient in the private sector,” Bersamin said in a mix of English and Filipino. “The President expected him to deliver. But I don’t know if he set the bar too high for himself — after all, that’s one million housing units a year,” he added.

Bersamin acknowledged the challenges Acuzar faced during his term.

“There may have been obstacles in his way which were beyond his control and beyond the control of the government. But to us now, because of the results of the election, it's time for the President to take him out there and bring another one who might make a better performance. Ganyan ang tingin ko dun sa kaso ni Secretary Acuzar. Wala namang masamang tinapay yan si Secretary Acuzar,” he said.

Under Acuzar’s leadership, DHSUD aimed to build 6 million housing units from 2022 to 2028, with a target of building one million housing units per year. He had previously described the goal as "achievable."

DHSUD noted in 2022 that under the previous administration it had constructed 1,088,373 housing units between 2016-2022.

Meanwhile, in September 2024, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco reported that the department was set to complete 12,731 units out of the 198,111 units under construction at a time, highlighting the "under-delivery" cited by Bersamin.

Acuzar expresses gratitude

In a public statement, outgoing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar thanked President Marcos for the opportunity to serve, as well as his colleagues at DHSUD and partners in the private sector who supported the agency’s housing efforts.

“Maraming salamat sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino na ating naging inspirasyon sa pagsusulong ng Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino,” Acuzar said, calling the 4PH program a privilege to work on despite the many challenges.

He expressed hope that the program, in the long term, would help address the country’s housing backlog, particularly for low-income families.

Acuzar also pledged continued support for the housing agenda in his new role. “Hindi po dito nagtatapos ang ating tungkulin,” he said.

To his successor, he added: “To incoming Secretary Ping, my all-out support to you. Tiwala ako na bilang naging kaagapay ko sa implementasyon ng 4PH ay maipapagpatuloy ang magandang nasimulan natin sa DHSUD.”