DHSUD raises standards of transitory housing with modular shelters

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has deployed modular shelter units (MSUs) to calamity-stricken areas, setting new standards for transitory shelters in 2025.

Through the deployment of MSUs spearheaded by Undersecretary Ed Robles, DHSUD is providing safer and more dignified temporary shelters to families displaced by disasters this year, in close coordination with national government agencies, local government units (LGUs), and partner stakeholders.

In October, DHSUD—together with other agencies—launched Bayanihan Villages composed of MSUs in areas affected by two powerful earthquakes in Cebu and Davao Oriental.

As of 12 December, MSUs have been deployed in San Remigio, Daantabantayan, and Bogo in Cebu; and Tarragona and Manay in Davao Oriental, providing immediate relief to families whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

In San Juan City, MSUs have also been turned over to fire victims, while additional units will serve as staging areas for beneficiaries of the Expanded 4PH program.

Installation works are ongoing in Bogo and Mandaue City in Cebu, as well as in Tarragona and Baganga in Davao Oriental. Additional MSUs are allocated for typhoon-affected LGUs, with further deployments underway—pending inspection—in Cebu, Davao Oriental, Camarines Sur, Albay, Catanduanes, Negros Occidental, and Negros Oriental.

DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling said each MSU represents families in urgent need of shelter after disasters.

“This is not just a temporary roof. These shelters are safe, orderly, and dignified homes while communities recover,” Aliling said, stressing DHSUD’s commitment to people-centered disaster response under the Bagong Pilipinas agenda.