In support of the administration’s aim to address the need for affordable, accessible and quality housing in the country, Senator Bong Go has filed Senate Bill No. 203, or the proposed National Housing Development, Production and Financing Act of 2019.
The bill mandates the creation of a National Housing Development Production and Financing Program to be implemented by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and its attached key shelter agencies.
“This event is a fulfillment of our promise.”
Based on the proposed measure, the NHA will be the lead agency tasked to develop and implement various types of housing programs intended for the bottom 30% of the income population. Some of these programs are resettlements, housing programs for low-salaried government employees, settlements upgrading, housing programs of calamity victims, and land banking.
As for the housing needs of the formal and informal sectors in the low-income bracket, the draft legislation mandates the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) to develop, administer and undertake social housing programs that will cater to the housing needs of the poorest of the poor.
The proposed law also tasks the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) to increase the availability of affordable housing loans to finance Filipino homebuyers, and for the DHSUD to manage housing, human settlements and urban development.
To encourage private sector participation in the program, pertinent government agencies are mandated to facilitate the release of the required housing-related permits, licenses, certifications and tax exemptions and rulings in accordance with the Ease of Doing Business Act.
“Dapat sa susunod na mga taon, wala nang squatter sa sariling bayan. This measure aims to address the 6.5-M housing gap over the period of 20 years,” the legislator said in past statements.
“Inuna ko po ang kapakanan ng mga Pilipinong pinaka-nangangailangan ng atensyon mula sa gobyerno. Para ito sa mga mahihirap, mga ordinaryong manggagawa, mga biktima ng kalamidad, at mga kabataan na pagasa ng ating bayan. Ito ang serbisyong ipinangako ko sa inyo, serbisyo at pagmamalasakit para sa tuloy-tuloy na pagbabago, ramdam kahit saan mang dako ng bansa,” the lawmaker added.
Meanwhile, Go recently accompanied President Rodrigo Duterte during the groundbreaking ceremony of the relocation site for victims of the 2018 landslide in Naga City, Cebu.
The government is expected to build 192 housing units in the area to be awarded to some of the families that were displaced when a landslide occurred in Sitios Sindulan III and Tagaytay of Barangay Tinaan on September 20, 2018. Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) trigerred the landslide, which affected more than 8,000 individuals and caused the death of more than 70 people.
“This event is a fulfillment of our promise to provide an affordable and sustainable resettlement site for the victims,” Duterte said in his speech.
The President also said that the beneficiaries will not be required to pay for the housing units.
“Akong order nimo, the National Housing Authority, nga ang balay, housing units, imong ihatag og gasa sa Naga permanent housing project,” the Chief Executive said. (I order the National Housing Authority to give as a gift the housing units in the Naga permanent housing project.)
“Kani tanan, ang balay ug ang yuta, ihatag na sa inyo libre,” he repeated for emphasis. (All of these, the house and the lot, will be given to you for free.)
The victims of the landslide had to be relocated to a two-hectare portion of the Balili property in Barangay Tinaan because their original settlement had been declared unsafe by the authorities. The Cebu provincial government donated the property to the city of Naga.
The President thanked the agencies and local government units involved in helping the victims. “I acknowledge the efforts of the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), as well as the local officials of the Naga City and the Cebu province, for tapping private developers to make this project possible,” he said.