Christmas wish: A home for all

The Organization of Socialized and Economic Housing Developers of the Philippines Inc. (OSHDP) is driven by one ultimate goal: better housing delivery to Filipinos who dream of having a decent home.

It is a wish that seemed unachievable until recently, when the government launched the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program. The program sparks hope in the hearts of every homeless and underprivileged Filipino family.

Addressing housing crisis

As the government attempts to address the decades-long housing crisis, the private sector is ready to commit all the support needed. But the government still has a lot of work to do—from setting aside layers of bureaucracy, increasing price ceilings, to enabling participative governance, and putting the welfare of Filipino families at the center of this program.

Given the meager budget for housing, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) could leverage the private sector’s resources to scale up housing production to meet the target of one million housing units a year under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program. DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar recognizes this strategy as he emphasized the crucial role of private developers in the success of the program.

Easing restrictive regulations

In the recently concluded Affordable Housing Summit 2022, we stressed that the continued accumulation of housing backlog shows that over-regulation has a dysfunctional effect. As the government relies so much on private housing partnerships to achieve its one-million housing target a year, it is advisable to cut some slack on these regulations.

OSHDP is driven by one ultimate goal: better housing delivery to Filipinos who dream of having a decent home.

Easing up on restrictive regulations–such as socialized housing price ceilings and balanced housing requirements, permitting processes, among other things–could unlock private investments, perk up the industry, and bolster homeownership.

Promotion of participative governance–by institutionalizing regular private sector participation in the harmonization of existing policies, rules, and regulations–could help us better understand what is happening on the ground and how the government can better take into consideration the interests of all stakeholders. The DHSUD is on the right track as it continues to conduct multi-sectoral dialogue to receive inputs and comments in crafting the implementing guidelines of the program.

OSHDP at the recently concluded housing summit

According to our chairman Marcelino Mendoza, “crafting housing policies to deliver adequate, safe, dignified, and humane housing units to the Filipino people takes an entire community. The Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program may be ambitious, but it could usher in the golden age of public housing.”

The author is the president of the OSHDP