The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is turning to civil society for greater inclusivity in its housing agenda.

On Monday, DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling held a dialogue with prominent urban development experts and NGO leaders to explore new ways to expand the reach of the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) program — now being rebranded and broadened under the 4PHX initiative.

Among those in attendance were former UN-Habitat official Dr. Nathaniel von Einsiedel, Ateneo sociologist Dr. Mary Racelis, and representatives from urban poor alliances such as LinkBuild, Joly Homes Foundation and the Federation for the Development of the Urban Poor.

“That’s exactly the directive of President Marcos Jr. — for us to be more inclusive and people-centric, to cover the mandated beneficiaries of government housing programs which are the poorest of the poor and those in the lower income deciles,” Aliling said.

Under Aliling’s leadership, the DHSUD is actively exploring various housing modalities — including rental schemes, subdivision-style horizontal developments, and incremental housing — to more effectively meet the diverse socioeconomic needs of Filipino families.

Aliling has also directed agencies under the DHSUD to adjust their strategies.

The Social Housing Finance Corporation has been directed to revitalize the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), while the National Housing Authority has been tasked to broaden its pro-poor housing initiatives.

Dialogue participants welcomed the department’s openness to community-led plans, particularly those developed by urban poor groups. These include proposals for the CMP and high-density housing, where residents are actively involved in designing and implementing their housing projects.

The shift appears to be bearing fruit: three private developers have pledged over 50,000 units under the horizontal 4PHX component, while the University of the Philippines-Diliman has offered to partner on a rental housing scheme.

“While we are already pursuing those modalities, rest assured that DHSUD welcomes inputs from all stakeholders for the betterment of our programs, especially those that call for active participation from our beneficiaries from project conceptualization up to execution,” Aliling said.

As the DHSUD reorients its programs to align more closely with community-based approaches, it signals a renewed focus on inclusive governance in addressing the country’s housing crisis.