Castro says gov't housing program too costly; DHSUD insists it is affordable

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro on Tuesday expressed doubt that the poor could afford to avail of the Marcos administration's housing program, saying it is too costly, despite an assurance from the concerned agency that it is affordable.

Under the program dubbed Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) and is funded by the private sector, each housing unit costs P1.2 million, with a monthly amortization of at least P3,500.

Of the P1.2 million, the beneficiary will only pay P400,000, a loan payable for 30 years to state-run Home Development Mutual Fund with a 6% annual interest.

The beneficiary will only pay 1% of the interest, with the remaining 5% subsidized by the government.

"Kung titignan po ang presyo ng pabahay, hindi po ito pabahay para sa mahihirap. Iyong sinabi niyo po, P1.2 million for 24 square meter [housing unit], wishful thinking po ito, panaginip ito para sa mahihirap," Castro said during the budget deliberations on the P5.9-billion proposed budget of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) for 2024 before the House Committee on Appropriations.

She cited as example housing beneficiaries in Calauan, Laguna who could not afford the P600 monthly amortization and are now receiving notices of closure.

"Iyong P600 nga, hindi na kinakaya eh," said Castro of ACT Teachers party-list.

Castro also cited that the P1.5-billion government budget for interest subsidy is too small, given that such amount only covers interest subsidy for 50,000 housing units.

"Napakaliit lang po nito para doon sa tina-target nating one million housing units per year. Even the department’s accomplishments only showed 165,498 units built for this program [for the period of 2022 until first semester of 2023]," she said.

DHSUD side

In response, DHSUD Secretary Jose Acuzar said that the 4PH project is designed to benefit the poor, given that the monthly amortization can be graduated to a lower amount and it will be an in-city resettlement where there is wide access to social services.

"Noong unang program, iyong mga mahihirap itinatapon natin sila sa off-city relocation site para mabigyan ng pabahay,” Acuzar said.

Castro called out Acuzar for using the word "tinatapon" (dumping) and asked him not to use it again.

Acuzar apologized for his choice of word.

According to Acuzar, it was the urban poor who want in-city resettlement which he said "costs more."

"Sa graduated monthly amortization po, puwede po bumaba ng P2,000, to be increased every after five years," he explained.

"Kaya gumawa po kami ng paraan, ma'am, na may interest subsidy at graduated amortization, at wala na pong ibang development cost and marketing cost for developers, kaya bumaba ang presyo. Gusto lang po kasi ng bangko may managot sa presyo at alam nila kung paano sila babayaran," Acuzar added.

Acuzar said that this would be a huge gain for the poor beneficiaries of the housing program, since property values increase over time.

"In time, the poor will have their first P1 million worth of assets out of their pocket," Acuzar said.

Acuzar also said the 4PH project beneficiaries are allowed to sell the rights of their housing unit if they can no longer afford to pay the monthly amortization .

"They can sell their rights, kung talagang hirap na hirap na sila at gusto umuwi sa probinsya. May P500,000 to P1 million pong premium para may magamit po silang puhunan," he said.

"But we don’t see that happening and we expect that they will be able to pay their dues as their quality of lives improve over time," Acuzar added.

Castro, however, was not convinced. "Iyong P600 a month nga po, hindi natin masolusyunan eh," she said.

"We really need more budget for the DHSUD para mapunta ito sa pabahay ng mga mahihirap, hindi sa kita ng mga developer at bangko lang," Castro also said.

Acuzar agreed with Castro's call to increase his agency's budget so they can make the government’s low-cost housing more affordable. —KBK, GMA Integrated News