Manila: In compliance with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s directive to pursue people-centered programs, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) engaged various stakeholders, including non-government organizations (NGOs), to increase public participation in the government housing program and extend its reach to a wider range of beneficiaries.

According to Philippines News Agency, DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling hosted a dialogue with key figures such as Dr. Nathaniel von Einsiedel, Dr. Mary Racelis, Ana Oliveros, Dr. Anna Marie Karaos, Vince Eugenio, and Maricel Genzola. The discussion focused on the modalities being introduced by Aliling to the expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PHX) Program and the promotion of people-centric housing programs.

Aliling stated, "That's the exact directive of President Marcos Jr. - for us to be more inclusive and people-centric, to cover the mandated beneficiaries of government housing programs which are the poorest of the poor and those in the lower income deciles." He further explained the expansion of the 4PH to include various housing modalities such as rental housing, horizontal developments, and incremental housing.

The group expressed appreciation for the DHSUD leadership's openness to stakeholder inputs, particularly from NGOs. They suggested additional schemes for consideration under 4PHX, such as the community mortgage program (CMP) and high-density housing (HDH), which emphasize people's participation from project conceptualization to execution.

Since assuming office on May 26, Aliling has expanded the 4PH to include horizontal developments and rental housing. Three private developers have committed more than 50,000 units under horizontal 4PHX, while the University of the Philippines-Diliman is prepared to collaborate on a rental housing scheme.

Furthermore, Aliling has directed the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) to revive its CMP and the National Housing Authority (NHA) to formulate and expand pro-poor housing programs to benefit the poorest of the poor and those in the lower-income bracket.

"While we are already pursuing those modalities, rest assured that DHSUD welcomes inputs from all stakeholders for the betterment of our programs, especially those that call for active participation from our beneficiaries from the project conceptualization up to execution," Aliling concluded.