Las Piñas City councilor Mark Anthony Santos asked the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to start the “Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pamilyang Pilipino” (4PH) project in the city before the campaign period starts for the national elections in May 2025.
Santos said the city government identified at least four suitable lands in city’s different barangays that can be used for the government’s housing program including in-city relocation for informal settlers.
Santos, chairman of the informal settlers, housing and land use committee of the city council, said the memorandum of understanding with Las Piñas Mayor Imelda Aguilar and the DHSUD to begin the housing project remain unsigned by the two concerned parties.
“Up to this date, the request from the city mayor’s office, seeking authority from the city council to approve the resolution for the MOU has not been discussed nor deliberated by my colleagues from the majority group,” the councilor said.
He said housing affordability remains a significant issue for the majority of Filipinos, particularly for low- and middle-income households. Powerful politicians opposed the project
Santos earned a wealth of experience as an elected minority leader and main author of a resolution allocating the P85-million budget for land acquisition for informal settlers. From 27, 000 informal settler families (ISFs)10 years ago in the city, there are still about 20, 000 ISFs until today.
He said the 4PH program is the government’s flagship program designed to address the need for decent housing while the city project aims to provide affordable housing to the residents.
The country faced a housing backlog of about 6.5 million units from 2017 to 2022, according to DHSUD. The backlog is most pronounced in urban centers like Metro Manila, where over 13 million people reside, leading to a high concentration of informal settlements and inadequate living conditions.
Santos said one of the pending housing projects of the city government is the proposed 12-story building under 4PH program located along DBP Subdivision in Barangay Pulanglupa Dos, Las Piñas.
He said the target beneficiaries are the city government employees and informal settlers numbering to about 412 families financed under the Social Housing Finance Corp.
Building one will have 308 units while in building two will having 104 units. Parking slots numbering to about 54 and 270 commercial spaces will be available.
The project proponents are the city’s Urban Poor Affairs Office and the Estate Management and Development Office while the proponent association is the Pascual Homeowners Association Inc.
