Usec. Claire Castro. Screengrab from RTVM/FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Palace on Monday admitted failing to reach its target of one million housing units per year due to certain obstacles relating to construction and contracting.
Undersecretary Claire Castro, of the Presidential Communications Office, made the pronouncement after stating that the government, through the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, currently has 90 ongoing projects nationwide, with 82 in the preproduction phase and 436 additional proposals awaiting approval.
READ: Marcos aims to build 1 million low-cost houses annually: 鈥榃e will try very, very hard鈥�
Completed projects, meanwhile, resulted in only 259,365 housing units since the beginning of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.鈥檚 term, said Castro, which is far from the government鈥檚 target of one million housing units per year.
鈥淢ay mga pagkakataon po gustuhin po natin na matapos po ang lahat pero may mga causes of delays,鈥� said Castro in a Palace press conference.
(There are times when we want everything to be finished, but there are causes of delays.)
These delays, she said, included challenges in processing and releasing development loans, permitting and due diligence processes involving land ownership and issues with longer construction periods, particularly for vertical housing.
Castro also cited issues with limited contractors, as only a few participate in the housing projects due to the low rates offered to the public.
鈥淪o, ito po ay mga issues na hindi po ninanais ng administrasyon but katulad ng sinabi ng ating Pangulo, 鈥榃e aim one million houses a year and we will try very, very hard,鈥欌�� she added.
(So, these are issues that the administration does not wish for, but as our President said, 鈥榃e aim for one million houses a year, and we will try very, very hard.鈥�)
It was in 2022 when Marcos issued his commitment to build 1 million low-cost houses annually during his term.