President Marcos: Mideast war won’t disrupt services, programs

MANILA, Philippines — Government programs would not be disrupted even if the administration is dealing with the wide-reaching impact of the war in the Middle East, President Marcos gave assurance yesterday.

In a vlog posted on his YouTube and social media accounts, Marcos said efforts to take care of the sick and students, fight crime, support athletes, culture, arts and tourism sectors would continue.

“Even if our energy crisis is burdensome, the work in government should not stop,” the President said.

“Work in all branches of government continues. That’s the way it should be. We will not allow the services provided by the government to be paralyzed, regardless of the problem being faced,” he added.

The three-minute vlog went on to discuss the nationwide housing program, the first in a series that aims to highlight projects that Marcos said have brought positive change to people’s lives despite the crisis.

According to the video, Marcos launched the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino or 4PH to make decent houses and to give Filipino families hope and dignity. Marcos visited a project site in Pampanga last week to ensure that the beneficiaries have access to safe and quality houses, the vlog added.

The vlog also mentioned the government’s move to lower the socialized housing project’s subsidized interest rate to one to three percent to make housing more affordable to qualified beneficiaries.

In the same video, Marcos vowed to find a way to address the housing backlog and to make housing accessible.

The administration originally sought to construct one million houses annually in six years to address the housing backlog, which has hit 6.5 million. However, the goal was lowered to 3.2 million houses because of procedural issues and the impact of disasters like typhoons.