Senator Lito Lapid met with officials of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to learn about the current status of the government’s various housing programs.
One of the key proposals raised by Lapid is addressing the issue of overpopulation in Metro Manila through the “Balik Probinsya Program.”
“I have been advocating for this program as early as 2004 as a long-term solution to the persistent issue of informal settler families (ISFs) in Metro Manila.”
According to the veteran legislator, he has been advocating for this program as early as 2004 as a long-term solution to the persistent issue of informal settler families (ISFs) in Metro Manila.
In his proposal, the seasoned lawmaker suggested that the government provide affordable housing and livelihood opportunities to Filipinos who are willing to return to their respective provinces.
During the meeting, DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling presented the agency’s national program, strategy, and legislative agenda to address the country’s serious housing problems.
“One of the department’s priorities is to implement programs that will relocate informal settlers from danger zones.”
According to Aliling, one of the department’s priorities is to implement programs that will relocate informal settlers from danger zones.
The housing chief also provided updates on the Expanded Pabahay Para sa Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4PH) — a flagship initiative of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The program aims to provide affordable housing for the poor through subsidized interest rates from the Pag-IBIG Fund.
The target is to build 1.2 million units by the 2028, the final year of Marcos’s term.
This was the first meeting between Lapid and Aliling since the senator was appointed as the head of the housing committee in the 20th Congress.
Joining them in the briefing were DHSUD Senior Undersecretary Henry Yap, Director Mario Mallari, Atty. Abel Maglanque, and Atty. John DX Lapid.
