Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Thursday the Philippine government intends to construct medium-rise buildings for informal settlers starting next year.

"This will be a five-year project," Binay, who is also chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said after the Senate finance committee hearing on the proposed budget of housing agencies for 2012.

Binay said there are around 580,000 informal settlers in Metro Manila, 104,000 of whom are reportedly living in danger areas.

The government plans to construct 20,000 housing units in various parts of Metro Manila every year within the next five years, Binay said.

Each residential unit will measure 24 square meters and will be worth P500,000, which the owners will pay in 30 years.

"We have to complete the study (but) hopefully early next year we can implement this," said Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) chief executive officer and commissioner Antonio Bernardo during the same interview. - VVP, GMA News