President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, Dec. 21, assured the public that he will exhaust all efforts to live up to his promise of building at least 1 million low-cost housing units every year.

Marcos made the commitment during the groundbreaking of the Palayan City Township Housing Project in Nueva Ecija, as he pledged to help the homeless and the minimum wage earners whose dream is to own a home.

“I am glad that we are continuing. This is not the first groundbreaking that I have attended. I know that it will not be the last, and that we will continue to break ground in different parts around the country para naman ‘yung ating pinapangarap na (to achieve our goal of building) 1 million homes a year,” he said.

“‘Pagka naabot natin, at least napakalaking bagay na ‘yan na nabigyan natin ng solusyon ang problema ng pabahay ng ating mga kababayan (That would be a big help if we are able to fulfill our goal of providing a solution to the housing problem faced by our fellow countrymen),” Marcos added.

Marcos thanked the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), as well as the local government units (LGUs), for their role in the implementation of the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program.

He also expressed confidence in the success of the housing projects.

“All of these things have to come together. It is not a question. Marami na tayong experience (We already have an experience),” Marcos said. “I hope that we’ll continue at this rate, at kailangan na kailangan nating gawin ito (and we have to do this). This is one of the many actually that we are going to break ground and I hope soon.”

In November this year, Marcos pledged to build at least 1 million houses every year, as part of his administration’s effort to address the housing backlog in the country.

The Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program is a flagship housing project of the Marcos administration which aims to provide around 6 million Filipino beneficiaries safe, affordable and comfortable homes.

A memorandum of agreement was signed between the DHSUD and government financial institutions to fund the department’s housing projects.

Once completed, the community township in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija will give rise to 44 towers that can accommodate 11,000 housing units.

The housing project will also feature several amenities and infrastructures, including a market area, livelihood center, health center and elementary school.

The project is expected to generate around 1.7 million jobs every year from 2023 to 2028.PNA