The Cordillera Administrative Region has set into motion its first housing project under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) program.
Benguet and Baguio City officials led the groundbreaking ceremony for a 6,400-unit shelter project in Sitio Topinao, Barangay Poblacion in Tuba town, with Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund representing the Department of Human Settlements.
Aiming to further expand sustainable communities in the region, the project site spanning 6.4 hectares would allocate a solid five-hectare area for shelter, and the rest for mixed-use development.
Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar expressed hopes for the project in serving as a model urban development that promotes sustainable and progressive housing communities while protecting cultural heritage and natural resources. Rio N. Araja
“As an advocate of striking a balance between progress and cultural preservation, I see this housing project to hopefully serve as a testament that we can achieve both, particularly in providing shelters for our brothers and sisters in the Cordillera,” he said.
The 4PH program aims to build one million housing units per year until the end of the current administration’s term as a strategy to address the country’s housing backlog pegged at 6.5 million units.
At present, 4PH has tapped at least 143 local government units around the country to participate in the program.