4PH socialized housing not for poor Filipinos

By FRANCESSCA ABALOS

MANILA – The June 2025 policy brief of the Philippine Resource Center for Inclusive Development (Inklusibo) found that the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program excludes the poor Filipinos it hopes to serve. 

Launched in mid-2022, the 4PH Program seeks to address the nation’s 6.5 million housing backlog. Local government units (LGUs) are encouraged to build social housing units with the assistance of private sector partners. These housing units are supposed to be offered to target beneficiaries “in the bottom 30% income decile, including [informal settler families] ISFs and informal workers”.

The housing units are subsidized by the Pag-IBIG Fund which offers two payment schemes: fixed monthly payments in the Level Amortization Plan (LAP) and low-starting amortization payments “that increase over the 30-year repayment period” in a Graduated Amortization Plan (GAP).

To illustrate, Inklusibo presents a sample LAP for a mid-rise unit worth $27,272.73 with monthly payments at 6.25% interest rate for 30 years. Based on their calculations, these monthly payments would be worth approximately $167.92. 

Poor households report an average monthly income of either $217.09, $276.68, or $315.80, according to the 2023 Family Income and Expenditure Survey. 

The IBON Foundation’s estimated minimum wage of $11.72 per day increases potential monthly earnings to approximately $351.82, but the sample LAP payments still take a significant portion of this amount. 

Housing offered by the 4PH Program remains financially inaccessible for poor families even with Pag-IBIG Fund’s amortization plan. “The program reveals a structural flaw: it offers housing that the poor, by design, cannot afford,” Inklusibo’s report concluded.

Data from the ground

These findings were consistent with Secretary General of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) Eufemia “Mimi” Doringo’s experience as an urban poor activist. She said that Kadamay already spotted the high prices as an issue during a December 2022 consultation with former Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar. 

“If these are the prices of housing that our government says is for the poor, it is not within these people’s abilities. Even if they are given financial assistance, [they could live in the units] for only one or two months,” Doringo explained. 

Given this reality, she and Kadamay have not encountered anyone within urban poor communities who have successfully become a 4PH Program beneficiary. Not only because of the expense, but the qualifications required of an individual. 

All 4PH Program beneficiaries need to be active Pag-IBIG Fund members, with a total contribution of 24 months. Both Doringo and Inklusibo stressed that only workers with stable income are able to accumulate enough contributions to apply for a home loan. Many poor Filipinos live off of what they earn in a day, preventing them from having savings.

Housing for all

Early on, the Program’s problems with the high unit prices and unattainable qualifications were already raised by Doringo and Kadamay. Yet, there were no further consultations with them about the 4PH Program or other ways to create social housing. 

As both Inklusibo’s paper and Doringo stressed, the insights of the poor need to be included in the 4PH Program’s implementation. 

“The voices of and things being said by the beneficiaries should be listened to. It shouldn’t be like the units are forced onto you or you are just relocated here because you are a beneficiary. That’s not how it is, eh, you have to look at the whole picture,” Doringo said. 

Inklusibo said that the current program depends greatly on market-drive and build-and-sell schemes which limit reach and equity. Doringo clarified that the program is not an answer to the poors’ lack of housing because it still falls under “negosoyong pabahay [real estate business]”.

Housing should not be about commercial gain, Doringo stressed that it is a human right—all citizens should have a home. “It really should be a consistent right and not a privilege for those who have the money or ability to avail rent for a home,” she said.

The 4PH Program is part of the government’s mandate ensuring all Filipinos can enjoy the right to housing. But without significant improvements based on the insights of the poor, the program will continue to neglect the Filipinos who need it most. (RTS, DAA)

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