Gov’t mulls subsidy fund for amortization of housing beneficiaries

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday bared that he and Housing Secretary Jose Acuzar are studying the creation of a subsidy fund for beneficiaries of the government’s housing program.

He acknowledged that many housing beneficiaries are not able to pay their monthly amortization.

“Siguro maglalagay tayo diyan, pag nakahanap tayo ng pera, mga ₱1 billion to start with para meron tayong subsidy na ibibigay para sa ating magiging tenant,” Marcos said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the second Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) project in Quezon City.

[Translation: Perhaps we’ll allocate an initial ₱1 billion so we can provide subsidies to our tenants.]

The Marcos administration earlier said it intends to build a million affordable residential units per year to address the country’s housing backlog, which is estimated at 6.5 million units.

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During the groundbreaking event, the President also asked lawmakers to help ensure there is enough budget to realize this goal.

“I now call on Congress for your support, including housing interest support as part of the regular appropriations for the succeeding years,” he said.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who was present at the ceremony, said Congress “will do everything to support our President in all of his programs.”