The Cebu City local government unit will form a task force to address housing backlogs that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. mentioned in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday.

Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said on Wednesday he is about to issue an executive order to formally form the “Task Force Pabahay” that would prioritize the implementation of housing programs in the city.

“We attended a meeting with the DHSUD (Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development) and Pag-IBIG to seek their inputs on how we can proceed with our housing project, in consonance with President Marcos’ agenda,” he told the Philippine News Agency.

The task force will ensure the implementation of the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Program of the Marcos administration in Barangays Binaliw and Pulangbato, the Budlaan Valley Resettlement Area, and the Camp Marina Resettlement Area.

The 4PH is the socialized housing project under the Marcos administration aimed at improving the lives of the homeless with quality amenities affordable to Filipinos.

Garcia said he discussed the program with DHSUD officer-in-charge Lyndon Juntilla, Pag-IBIG representative Miriam Lloren, and Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor head Ronald Anthony Librando.

The Department of Engineering and Public Works, the Land Management Office, and the City Planning and Development Office of the city are also on board.

The city, he said, will address issues, especially on informal settlers who could be billeted in the transitional housing units.

The city allocated PHP600 million for the construction of transitional housing units for the informal settler families who were forcibly evicted from riverbanks affected by the reclamation of a three-meter easement and those that were demolished after private owners recovered their properties. (PNA)