MANILA, Philippines — Around 1.7 million jobs per year are expected to be generated under the Marcos administration’s six-year mass housing program, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said.
In a statement released yesterday, Human Settlements Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said that other than the increase in cash flow in the housing sector market, the administration’s “Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino: Zero ISF (Informal Settler Family) 2028 Program” is also a big job generator.
“It is projected to have direct and indirect jobs in the sector especially in areas where mid-rise to high-rise units will be built,” Acuzar said.
Based on its study, the DHSUD sees at least eight workers are needed to construct a housing unit within a certain period.
The Pambansang Pabahay program aims to build one million housing units per year or a total of six million housing units by the end of President Marcos’ term in 2028.
The program was aimed at addressing the country’s housing backlog projected to be around 6.5 million units by the end of 2022 and expected to increase to 10.9 million by the end of 2028.
The DHSUD said that the significant number of jobs to be created under the Pambansang Pabahay program will contribute to the attainment of the administration’s post-pandemic economic agenda, which includes creation of more jobs by promoting investments.
Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s recent report, there are 2.68 million unemployed Filipinos aged 15 to 64 as of August 2022.
“With this (Pambansang Pabahay) program, we will also be tapping the economic pump-priming potentials of the housing sector,” Acuzar said.
Earlier, Acuzar called on the House of Representatives to provide a separate P36-billion allocation to fund the interest subsidy for the first one million housing units to be constructed next year under the program.
Acuzar said that with the P36-billion interest subsidy, housing recipients will only have to pay the principal and one percent of interest while the remaining interest will be shouldered by the government.
So far, the DHSUD has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Development Bank of the Philippines and has also secured the commitment of the Land Bank of the Philippines and some commercial banks for the financing aspect.