The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) on Monday said that it is cutting by half the number of low-cost housing units it is targeting to build by 2028 because of delays, including in getting financing for housing developments.
“Dati 6 million [units], e hindi matatapos yung 3 million,” DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar told state television PTV.
(It was 6 million units before, but we cannot finish some 3 million units.)
Among the challenges DHSUD is facing is the long processing times — around 9-12 months — for bank loans to housing developers.
“Kaya, pero matagal. Siyempre pag pumunta ka sa bangko, hahanapan ka ng documentation,” he said.
(It can be done, but it takes a long time. Of course, if you go to the bank, they will ask you for documentation.)
He said that the delays in funding have meant that only 140,000 units of the 1 million a year that the Marcos Jr. administration originally promised have been built.
The administration is looking at a new scheme where the government would borrow the loans and serve as the developer, Acuzar, a real estate developer before joining government, said.
“Instead na private, si gobyerno na kasi si gobyerno puwede mangutang… government-to-government so medyo madali,” he said.
(Instead of private contractors borrowing from banks, the government will be the one to take out the loans… It will be easier because we can do transactions between government offices.)
In 2022, the DHSUD committed to building 1 million housing units annually to address the Philippines’ 6.5-million backlog in residential spaces.
In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated that promise, noting that his administration is working to construct 1.2 million housing units by the end of that year.
Source: ABC
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