The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHUSD) yesterday said it is confident of surpassing the 1.2-million unit target set forth under the 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
This developed as one of DHSUD’s key shelter agency (KSA), Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC), reported it released P2.2 billion loans last year amid the pandemic.
DHSUD Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario said in a press conference yesterday the agency’s PDP achievement rate to date has hit 1.1 million.
With the annual production of up to 150,000 a year, Del Rosario said “we agency can attain the target by more than 100 percent.”
Saying this is the highest record in housing production since the 1970s, Del Rosario said DHSUD used to build 196,000 units a year but the pandemic slowed the production.
He said the transfer of the Home Guarantee Corp. to the Department of Finance also contributed to the decline.
Del Rosario also reported DHSUD will release in the second quarter the 20-year roadmap setting the direction of the country’s housing program to ensure sustainability and continuity.
Meanwhile, SHFC’s flagship, the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) provided secured homes to a total of 8,883 informal settler families (ISFs) across the country through P1.6 billion in loan assistance last year.
The CMP assists legally organized associations of ISFs to purchase and develop a tract of land under the concept of community ownership.
The High Density Housing Program, a slum redevelopment strategy where
ISFs in Metro Manila are accommodated in multistory buildings, benefited some 2,034 families through P325.9 million in loan assistance.
More than 3,700 households received housing assistance last year from Special Projects, which include shelter initiatives for families rendered homeless by the Marawi siege and those affected by the improvement work in Intramuros and construction of the North-South Commuter Railway Extension project.
SHFC, which has over 30 offices across the country, has provided secured homes to more than 427,700 families through over P26.6 billion in loan assistance since 1989.
In December 2021, SHFC and the Development Bank of the Philippines signed a deal for the establishment of a financing scheme wherein accredited developers and contractors can apply for a loan to fast-track the construction of new projects, particularly those under the turnkey CMP modality.
