P1.2T Loan Just For DHSUD

HOUSING czar Jose Rizalino Acuzar must really be super close to the man at the helm – if not backed up by somebody to whom the President has been listening and heeding recommendations on matters which could make or break his presidency.

Consider these – Acuzar’s appointment (which got the nod of the legislator-members of the powerful Commission on Appointments after a closed-door meeting, forcing a three hour delay in the scheduled interrogation) in itself is already a conflict of interest.

For one, it’s rather awkward – if not totally improper – to see Acuzar, a housing contractor who founded New San Jose Builders Inc.

(NSJBI) which has been involved in several housing deals with the government, to take the lead role for the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

Why so? His company has been doing business at the attached agencies under DHSUD – including a number of socialized housing contracts with the National Housing Authority (NHA), the Katarungan Village carved out of the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa for employees of the Department of Justice, and the resettlement housing for people affected by Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption, among others.

Squeezing the neck of the NHA, the Socialized Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), the Human Settlement Adjudication Commission (HSAC) and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) translates to total “business control.”

There’s no doubt Acuzar is an expert when it comes to constructing houses. But calling shots for the agency (created by virtue of Republic Act 11201) where he has been doing business is totally unacceptable if not absolutely immoral.

After taking control of DHSUD, Acuzar hinted at securing a P1.2 trillion loan to jumpstart the so-called Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program for them to be able to address the 6.5 million housing backlogs.

True enough, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has set his sights on continuing the mass housing legacy left behind by his father, the late former strongman and namesake.

It is from that legacy that the young Marcos (in his first State of the Nation Address) embarked on a promise to aggressively work on building more housing units for the poor Filipino families.

It must have been the President’s SONA where Acuzar got the idea of securing a P1.2 trillion loan “for him to be able to deliver results.”

Building a million houses per annum just like Acuzar has been boasting is with all certainty not a tall order especially with P 157 billion savings coming from DHSUD’s attached agencies – plus another one billion dollar housing grant from no less than the United States government.

One thing is sure – Acuzar is aware of the existence of such an amount, and a businessman that he is, he also knew that such an amount would be more than enough to start actual construction of housing units just like what his PR team has been boasting for the last four months.

He is also aware that there is no urgent need for a loan if only they would be able to distribute the idle housing units that the NHA built over the last six years. By doing so, the government can raise a significant amount from the monthly amortization of the beneficiaries.

But not after Acuzar gets to simplify the stiff requirements for one to qualify for a housing loan.

It is only then that the NHA can start generating money to sustain a significant part of whatever has to be done.

The DHSUD, which was created through Republic Act No. 11201 and enacted in 2019, may also want to consider running after the previous NHA officials whose priority was to enrich themselves over the very purpose for which they were appointed by former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Is DHSUD financially capable of polling the trick?

The answer – yes.

And as it is, there’s no need to secure a loan which will further bloat our P 13.64 trillion national debt.

Low-income Filipino families who have long yearned for a house of their own can only hope that Acuzar would be able to make use of what is under his very nose.