Private housing developers are calling on the government to fast-track key reforms that would accelerate the rollout of the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program as they expressed their commitment to helping close the widening housing gap.
The private sector fully supports President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s goal of addressing the national housing backlog but warned that several policy barriers should first be resolved, according to Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) president Francis Richmond Villegas.
“We have to produce as soon as possible,” Villegas said on Thursday at the sidelines of the 33rd National Developers Convention.
“If you consider the President’s timeline, we’re already three years lagging and about three million units behind. It may take us two years to deliver the first 250,000 units,” said Villegas.
Developers have submitted a “wishlist” to the government to make participation in the 4PH program more viable, including faster permitting, expanded housing modalities and a review of price ceilings for socialized units.
Housing projects take more than two years to secure complete permits, causing major production delays, Villegas said.
SHDA and other housing groups are working with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) through a technical working group to simplify these processes.
Developers are also pressing for an upward adjustment of the current P850,000 price ceiling for horizontal socialized housing, which applies to a 32-square-meter unit, to reflect current construction and land costs.
“We’ve proposed a new matrix to make the pricing feasible for the private sector,” Villegas said, noting that the DHSUD is reviewing the ceiling this month.
Villegas said it would be difficult to eliminate the entire backlog within the current administration, but said the industry aims to make significant progress.
The government places the country’s housing backlog at 6.5 million units, although SHDA believes the actual figure could be higher, citing population growth and rapid urbanization.
