This quarter's Development Research News offers policy insights aimed at improving housing, infrastructure, energy subsidies, and water governance for Filipino communities. The lead article introduces an assessment tool designed to help the government create livable and sustainable resettlement sites. The subsequent article examines how rising housing costs are delaying household formation among young Filipinos, highlighting gaps in affordability and social support. A study on transport infrastructure reveals persistent underinvestment and mismatches in planning and budgeting, which leave the Philippines lagging behind its ASEAN peers. Another study finds that electricity subsidies often fail to reach their intended targets, leading to calls for better targeting and a unified subsidy system. Research on water access suggests repurposing idle irrigation rights for broader public use, while identifying governance fragmentation as a significant barrier. Finally, this issue marks a leadership transition at PIDS, as Dr. Aniceto Orbeta Jr. steps down and Dr. Philip Arnold Tuaño takes over with a vision for inclusive, evidence-based policymaking.
