President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program is expanding its focus on low-income families, with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) now studying the integration of an incremental housing approach in select community mortgage sites.

DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling hosted members of the Advocates of Housing for All (AHA), a non-government organization, to discuss ways to improve the nationwide rollout of the Expanded 4PH Program.

The meeting centered on incorporating the incremental housing scheme into the flagship program, which targets underprivileged families. Aliling stressed that the initiative aligns with the President’s directive to widen 4PH coverage and ensure dignified, safe and affordable housing for Filipino families.

Incremental housing is a step-by-step construction approach where families gradually build and expand their homes over time according to their needs and available resources.

“The incremental housing scheme will match and be based on the capacity and current needs of our beneficiaries,” Aliling said. “The type of housing will evolve alongside the progress of our beneficiaries.”

Aliling, joined by Social Housing Finance Corporation president and CEO Federico Laxa, discussed how incremental housing can be incorporated into the Enhanced Community Mortgage Program (ECMP), one of the modalities under the Expanded 4PH.

To pilot the scheme, Aliling asked AHA to identify at least two ECMP sites where the approach could be applied while AHA representative Nathaniel von Einsiedel welcomed the DHSUD’s openness to explore innovative approaches that could improve living conditions and uplift the lives of informal settler families.

The DHSUD said consultations with communities will continue as it works to advance inclusive, sustainable, and affordable housing under the Bagong Pilipinas governance framework.