Camarines Sur Reps. Migz Villafuerte and Luigi Villafuerte have welcomed the government’s move to enlarge further its Expanded Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program by including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and even families living in danger zones without their own homes among the beneficiaries of this mass housing initiative.
The brothers said the twin decisions by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to (1) make OFWs eligible for socialized housing units and (2) launch a rental housing project for those staying in danger zones who cannot afford to have their own homes bolster President Marcos’ goal to make his Administration’s mass shelter initiative more inclusive and accessible, especially for working families and low-income households.
Migz Villafuerte, who chairs the House committee on information and communications technology, and Luigi Villafuerte, who is a deputy majority leader, issued this statement as they pushed for a rental housing subsidy equivalent to a monthly maximum of P3,500 per beneficiary-informal settler family (ISF) beginning when they are made to leave their current dwellings and up to the time when they are able to transfer to their government-built low-cost homes.
DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling announced recently that OFWs may now qualify for socialized units under the expanded 4PH, regardless of their monthly income.
Under HB 1989, eligible ISFs shall get a flat rental subsidy rate of P3,500 for those living in Metro Manila and a rental subsidy rate to be determined by the DHSUD and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for those living in all other regions, taking into consideration the prevailing minimum wage and rental rates per region, but not to exceed P3,500.
Migz and Luigi Villafuerte said that in including OFWs under the 4PH, the President, through the DHSUD, was not only attending to a basic need that the government aims to address but was also acknowledging the immense contribution of our migrant workers to nation-building.
In a separate announcement, Aliling said his department was eyeing a rental housing program under the 4PH in partnership with local government units (LGUs) for the benefit of ISFs staying in danger zones.
A pilot project is being considered by the DHSUD with the Quezon City LGU on relocating ISFs in danger zones, with the first possible site at the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines (UP).
“As the government grapples with the need to provide shelter to the country’s estimated 3.7 million ISFs, the 20th Congress can best support President Marcos’ goal of providing livable and affordable houses for the millions of homeless Filipino families by passing the proposed Rental Housing Subsidy Program with a monthly aid not to exceed P3,500 for every ISF beneficiary (ISB),” according to Migz.
Luigi said, meanwhile, that “the current Congress can make this housing subsidy happen for homeless Filipinos by passing HB (House Bill) No. 1989, which proposes such a system of subsidized rent for ISBs.”
The Villafuertes had authored HB 1989 with Camarines Sur Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon.
In HB 1989, the four authors noted that the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) has estimated that by 2040, the projected housing needs of the Philippines can soar to 22 million housing units.
“With approximately 3.7 million ISFs in the country, half a million of them in Metro Manila, the intersectional concerns with sanitation, water, waste management, electricity, and health have been aggravated by the severe lack of adequate and affordable housing,” they said.
DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling announced recently that OFWs may now qualify for socialized units under the expanded 4PH, regardless of their monthly income.
The version of HB 1989 in the previous Congress—HB 9506—and which had then-CamSur Rep. and now Gov. LRay Villafuerte among the lead authors, was passed by the chamber on third and final reading by a 255-3-0 vote last December 2024.
HB 9506 had consolidated several housing-related measures, including HB 305 that the incumbent CamSur governor authored with Reps. Migz Villafuerte and Horibata plus the Bicol Saro partylist.
Under HB 1989, eligible ISFs shall get a flat rental subsidy rate of P3,500 for those living in Metro Manila and a rental subsidy rate to be determined by the DHSUD and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for those living in all other regions, taking into consideration the prevailing minimum wage and rental rates per region, but not to exceed P3,500.
Migz said that HB 1989 seeks to establish a rental housing subsidy program so ISBs can access the formal housing market through the DHSUD and “lead decent lives during the transition phase between their leaving their current informal settlement dwellings and their resettlement in their new and permanent abodes in government-built mass housing projects.”
Luigi said that in HB 1989, “the eligible ISBs among informal settlers shall receive a rental subsidy to address their temporary relocation prior to their actual transfer to their new state-built homes in mass housing sites. And the amount of the subsidy, which shall not exceed P3,500 per ISB, shall be based on the prevailing rental rates in the concerned locality and the economic standing and potential of the beneficiary-family.”
This bill provides that the rental subsidy shall not exceed the actual rent, provided that at any time, but not more often than once every two (2) years, this subsidy rate may be reviewed or revised by the DHSUD and NEDA in response to the prevailing economic conditions.
To be eligible for the subsidy, the bill requires ISB families to vacate the informal settlement areas that they are presently occupying and transfer to safe government-authorized areas.
Prior to their actual transfer to their new homes in government housing projects, the ISBs shall continue receiving the rental subsidy, provided that they shall:
· Not move or relocate back to the area in which they were originally living in unless such move or relocation has been permitted by the proper government authorities; and
· Pay to the lessor that portion of the rental fee not covered by the subsidy. Rental subsidy ISBs who maintain good payment standings shall be given priority as beneficiaries in government housing programs.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) is tasked to certify the eligibility of the ISF applicants, coordinate with government agencies, including the Departments of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and of Transportation (DOTr) on identifying areas suitable for housing projects, and update the masterlist of beneficiaries to be resettled as part of the National Resettlement Program.
The local government unis (LGUs) shall maintain a publicly accessible register of lessors in their respective areas of jurisdiction, assist the NHA in conducting census and tagging of ISFs in need of immediate resettlement, and containing the vacated areas of ISFs to help achieve the objectives of this Program.
