Our friend Casmot was among those elated no end when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that he plans to revive the BLISS housing program initiated by his late father to address the shortfall in shelters that affect millions of Filipinos.
Having rented their abode for decades, Casmot says he dreams of the day when they can have a place they can call their home. He admits the monthly rent for their small apartment takes away much from their meager income as a family of five.
"We'll definitely apply for it. It's a long time coming," Casmot says of the planned revival of the Bagong Lipunan Improvement of Sites and Services which former First Lady Imelda Marcos implemented in the seventies as Minister of Human Settlements.
In his speech at the ceremonial turnover of house and lot units from the National Housing Authority in Naic, Cavite last Monday, Marcos Jr. said his administration is considering building high-rise housing units to address the current backlog which stood at 6.5 million when he assumed the presidency last June.
The BLISS project, during his father's time, focused on mid-rise housing units.
"The current backlog may require us to build higher buildings to address the shortage," he said.
He directed the NHA to continue fulfilling its mandate and ensure that families receiving new homes are provided with means of livelihood or at least accessibility to their workplaces.
Building houses accessible to workplaces is the very concept of human settlements, the President said, emphasizing that his government aims to veer away from merely building housing projects.
"What we are considering is the travel time from home to work which should not exceed an hour. There should be a school nearby for kids. There should be a market or small mall in the area for the families' basic needs. All of these are being considered," he said.
Given these, he urged all concerned agencies including local government units and the private sector to coordinate with one another to bring these objectives to fruition.
The President also stressed the need for them to ensure that the homes are resilient to the risks of natural calamities.
"I am confident that together, we will gradually be able to give every Filipino family a proper and affordable home," he said during the awarding of Certificates of eligibility of Lot Allocation and Transfer of Certificate Titles to beneficiaries at the NHA project site in Naic.
Aside from low-income families, beneficiaries included former rebels who have returned to the fold of the law to enable them to start a new life.
Casmot, who once served as a runner for us during our sports writing days, says replicating the BLISS program of the President's father seems like déjà vu for him. He remembers her late aunt, then still newly married, availing of the project when he was still a young kid. She was luckily selected as one of the recipients. For some reason, his late father, however, failed to get one and had to scramble for rent money almost every month.
"I will not let this opportunity pass this time. I hope the President would see through this program through. There are millions of families out there waiting to have a place to call their own."
Of course, Casmot and his family will have to go through what is expected to be stringent criteria to be able to avail of the housing units. But our friend is determined. He is banking on Marcos Jr.'s words that "together, we will gradually be able to give every Filipino family a proper and affordable home."
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