CLARK, Pampanga -– Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario has emphasized the need for the agency to push for measures aimed at boosting the capabilities of its workforce, as well as ensuring quality of service in the delivery of its mandate as the national housing agency.

At the end of a four-day agency-wide performance review and planning workshop, the housing czar provided feedback on the final outputs presented by the leads of five teams representing DHSUD’s key results areas (KRA).

Secretary Del Rosario commended the frameworks and action plans on the five KRAs that embody the Department's commitment - human settlements and urban development coordination, environmental, land use and urban planning development, housing and real estate development regulation, homeowners’ associations and community development, as well as general administration and support services.

To effectively do this, he pushed for the prioritization of measures focusing on personnel development and service excellence, which will lead to better performance of DHSUD as an organization.

“So the bottom line for all of us, is to establish a standard on personnel competence and quality service,” the housing czar stressed.

The activity streamlined the priorities of the department and crafted a proposal on programs for implementation in 2023 and beyond, with the output expected to set the operational direction of the Department in the coming years as anchored in the 2040 National Housing and Urban Development Sector Plan and other relevant national development frameworks.

The workshop, which kicked off on Monday, was aimed at evaluating the performance and harmonizing the Department’s priority programs. During the activity, the Department’s accomplishments over the past years were presented based on identified performance indicators. Participants likewise assessed organizational and operational gaps and challenges, which were used as reference to improve existing strategies and plan for future course of actions.

With the nearing transition in government administration, the workshop also served as a venue to discuss actions for sustainability as envisioned in existing national plans and sectoral frameworks.

Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, in his keynote address, stressed the importance of the activity to craft practical frameworks that can be translated into actionable strategies.

“Our agency planning workshop will, once and for all, critically assess our current status and performance as a Department, determine what we did right and reevaluate our strategies that require improvement while we draw the path toward the achievement of our vision,” the housing czar stressed.

“Just like any undertaking, everything starts with a plan. But in order to have a high degree of success, our plan must be meticulously well-planned. The sector plan provides us with a clear vision of the path that should guide us to reach our desired destination for ourselves as a government institution, for the stakeholders that we serve and for the entire nation. What we need to do now is to light our torches and trailblaze our journey by assessing our strengths and weaknesses and identifying the most viable yet effective approaches to bring our plans into action,” he noted.

According to Secretary Del Rosario, despite the hurdles that resulted in some delays in the Department’s operations, including the development and restructuring of its organizational systems and processes, it was able to manage the odds as evident in the vibrant performance of the housing sector in recent years.

Spearheaded by the DSHUD Planning Service led by Director Baby Catherine Cruz, with assistance from Development Academy of the Philippines, the event was participated by DHSUD executives, directors and selected division chiefs.

“Let us focus our strengths coupled with our required wisdom and experience to develop strategies that are doable and effective on the ground. We need practical frameworks to guide policy formulation, regulation, coordination, and program development and implementation,” Secretary Del Rosario said.

“As we go through this process, I urge everyone to participate constructively and give your best shot for the benefit of the Filipino people,” he added. (DHSUD)