Pabahay, ambisyon natin

Launched in 2022, the government’s flagship program to address the housing backlog in the country is the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program, which aims to build 6.5 million housing units through government-led housing initiatives until 2028. Priority beneficiaries are low-income groups and first-time homeowners nominated by local government units. Reported progress as of April 10, through a People’s Television Network online article, includes the “historic awarding of notices of approval to five overseas Filipino workers for housing units in Palayan City on Dec. 17, 2024, in Malacañang” as well as “56 4PH projects … being simultaneously developed across the country, with several condominium buildings already completed and now ready for delivery.”

A March 28 article on the website of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) also reports progress on the Bocaue Bulacan Manor housing project that will benefit more than 4,000 Filipino families “upon completion,” without citing any target date, as well as “several vertical housing projects with significant developments in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Albay, Camarines Sur, Bataan, Rizal, Bulacan, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Misamis Oriental, Zamboanga City, Palawan, and in Caloocan City.”

At this rate, one wonders how the program will achieve even just a tenth of the targeted 6.5 million homes. I further wonder what rabbit the DHSUD secretary can pull out of the hat to ramp up delivery given that UN-Habitat expects housing demand to peak at 22 million units by 2040. Don’t get me wrong. I want him to succeed. But if failure is imminent, maybe more gallant efforts are needed, or someone else is needed to get the job done.

Phinma chair and CEO Ramon del Rosario Jr. has said many times that “we want to do in housing what we have done in education.” In education, the accomplishment he refers to includes having 10 schools across the country, with over 160,000 students enrolled in various courses, offering affordable quality education and showing very positive employment numbers: 77 percent of graduates are employed within a year after graduation and 39 percent earning above the minimum wage. Among the ingredients of the secret sauce are better teachers receiving competitive salaries, various innovative approaches to education, and strong industry-academe partnerships. Ramon wants to lead Phinma in delivering such meaningful levels of social impact in housing as well. This kind of commitment from the private sector is what DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar may also want to help push forward and onward. As Ramon always says, one company’s successes in pursuing businesses that help plug the most urgent gaps in society can never be enough. There is always room for more private sector players to level up their models and keep innovating for the greater good of society. Besides, we must also never leave nation building to government alone.

While some developers have started taking to heart the law on mandatory socialized housing, I am told that many still opt for compliance alternatives like paying fines. Developers point to many conditions that make this the more rational option. Limited land availability, high standards coupled with low-price ceilings for housing units, and issues with local governments are some of the often-cited deterrents to compliance. And methinks that here lies the problem. Compliance is all it is for many developers. Isn’t it high time that all developers take on socialized housing as part and parcel of their respective corporate visions and missions? At the minimum, shouldn’t every company—not just the developers— help ensure that every employee has a decent home, or at least access to this basic essential for living dignified lives?

In 2015, Pope Francis, who the world sadly bid farewell to just last week, told charity workers, donors, and recipients while speaking to them in Washington, “We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing.” Time for the government and the private sector to stop making excuses and just get the job done. Make 4PH a genuine program with grand but realistic targets, unleashing the best practice in public-private partnerships and working closely with local governments, people’s organizations, and various affected and to-be-impacted communities.

To the Philippine government and the relevant agencies, how about we relaunch 4PH as a genuine all-of-nation collaborative partnership where all parties agree on shared commitments to deliver one million units within the next three years? I believe that once we achieve a million decent and affordable homes in better developed and organized communities, the road to 22 million units by 2040 will be an attainable ambisyon natin.

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