DHSUD targets ‘poorest of the poor’ in housing push

Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon P. Aliling has directed two major shelter agencies to implement targeted housing initiatives for the country’s most vulnerable families, in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s expanded Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program.

In his first official directive since assuming office last week, Aliling ordered the National Housing Authority (NHA) to design programs specifically for the “poorest of the poor,” while tasking the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) with reviving and strengthening its Community Mortgage Program (CMP).

“More than just inclusive, we must ensure that President Marcos Jr.’s expanded 4PH will be pro-poor,” said Secretary Aliling, a well-respected civil engineer in the construction industry.

“Ang mga kababayan natin mahihirap at walang sariling tahanan ang dapat unang-una sa ating listahan para sa expanded 4PH,” he added.

The CMP is a people-centered financing initiative that helps legally organized low-income communities acquire and develop land or housing units under community ownership. It aims to assist residents of depressed or hazardous areas either to own the lots they occupy or to move to relocation sites, working in coordination with local governments and the private sector.

The NHA, meanwhile, is responsible for relocating informal settler families (ISFs) living in danger zones or affected by infrastructure projects and the Supreme Court's order to rehabilitate Manila Bay.

“We must come up with specific projects intended for the poorest of the poor, and we shall implement them the soonest,” Aliling emphasized.

The DHSUD chief also reaffirmed his commitment to expanding the 4PH Program by opening it up to more private sector involvement and by developing flexible housing modalities that benefit more underserved Filipinos.