Beneficiaries of the Palayan City Township Project in Nueva Ecija said lower monthly amortization rates under the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program (4PH) helped ease housing costs and reduce dependence on rentals.

The project in Barangay Atate currently has four completed residential buildings under Phase 1, with 198 families already residing in the area.

Residents interviewed by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said the lower rates allowed them to allocate more income for food, education, and healthcare.

Beneficiary Donna Ramos, a fish trader, said the housing project gave her family security after years of living on land they did not own.

Medical technologist Vincent Geronimo said the program made homeownership more attainable for ordinary Filipinos.

Public school teacher Elsa Evangelista said affordable monthly payments gave minimum wage earners an opportunity to save while gradually owning a home.

Another beneficiary, government employee Charushin Tolentino, said the project allowed her family to stay together while managing affordable housing payments.

Last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling visited the housing site to inspect its progress and meet beneficiaries.

The Palayan City Township Project is expected to be completed by 2028 as part of the nationwide implementation of the Expanded 4PH Program.

Meantime, Senator JV Ejercito warned Sunday that the Philippines could face a shortage of 22 million housing units by 2040 if the government fails to address a widening backlog and the rising number of informal settlers.

Ejercito cited current estimates showing a housing backlog of 2.2 million units and approximately 3.7 million informal settler families.

He described the situation as a systemic crisis where “there is no sufficient housing security for ordinary Filipinos.”

“Behind these numbers are extended families in cramped spaces and shared bedrooms, those who would rather put food on the table than pay for a bigger house,” Ejercito said. He noted that even minimum wage earners and middle-class families struggle with long-term security and remain renters.

As the principal author of the law that created the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Ejercito is now calling for a formal review of the agency’s recent policy shifts.

Senate Resolution 318 seeks to examine DHSUD Memorandum Circular No. 2025-014, which moved the evaluation and approval of housing projects from regional offices to the agency’s central office.

Ejercito warned that this centralization could create bureaucratic bottlenecks and worsen the existing shortage.