All housing units under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program are of high quality and promote climate resiliency, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said Monday.
This, after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called on the DHSUD to explore climate-resilient housing designs to mitigate the effects of natural disasters to human settlements and ensure the safety of beneficiaries of public housing.
“Lahat po ng 4PH projects ay mataas ang kalidad, dahil bukod sa compliant ang mga ito sa ating Building Code ay nakatutok ang gobyerno, kasama ang ating mga local government units, sa pagtatayo ng mga housing projects (All the 4PH projects are of high quality, apart from being compliant to the Building Code, the government and local government units [LGUs] are focused on the establishment of the housing projects),” DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said in a news release.
He assured that the 4PH projects are not located in hazardous or disaster-prone areas and are aligned with the approved comprehensive land use and local shelter plans of LGUs.
The DHSUD also has the “Plan and Do” or the Planado program which aims to promote climate resiliency by integrating climate change considerations into urban planning processes.
It focuses on developing sustainable and resilient communities through streamlined land use planning and coordination with various stakeholders to create cities that can better withstand the impacts of climate change such as flooding and extreme weather events.
At least 56 projects under 4PH are in various stages of development and construction to date.
In Nueva Ecija, the first 4PH units at the Palayan City Township Development were turned over to overseas Filipino worker-beneficiaries by the President and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos in Malacañang last December 2024.
Bacolod City also started turning over 4PH housing units to beneficiaries at the Asenso Yuhum Residences last week.
“These ongoing turn-over of units and simultaneous development and construction of housing projects are solid proofs of concepts that 4PH is [on] the right track. Ito po ay patunay na kaya natin i-tap ang private funds sa public housing (This is proof that we can tap private funds for public housing),” Acuzar said. (PNA)