LAWMAKERS and multisector stakeholders are one in saying that the way forward to addressing the rising housing backlog and informal-settler families (ISFs) is the adoption of an in-city housing policy complemented by the transfer of government agencies to the provinces.
This consensus emerged at the culmination program of the National Housing and Urban Development Summit held on Tuesday at the San Juan Arena.
The summit was spearheaded by the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, chaired by Rep. Alfredo B. Benitez of Negros Occidental and the Senate Committee on Urban Planning and Shelter and Resettlement, chaired by Sen. JV Ejercito. Stakeholders from different sectors participated in the 10-month long summit.
Benitez said the adoption of the in-city housing policy and relocation of government agencies in provinces will solve the 5.5 million housing backlog and 584,425 ISFs in the National Capital Region.
“There are good housing laws already in place, yet we still face the age-old problem of increasing number of
informal settlements in the urban centers, housing backlog and lack of access to affordable housing units,” he said.
“The problem is that the government and the beneficiaries do not see eye to eye when it comes to housing solutions, which makes our housing programs fail. The in-city housing concept is something that the government can actually do, as it is cost effective, and it is what the ISFs prefer,” Benitez added.
Under the in-city housing approach, ISFs will not be relocated outside the cities where they presently reside in. Instead, the government will use its idle lands in Metro Manila where the medium-rise buildings will be constructed.
“Access to decent and affordable housing is a constitutional mandate of the government. It is time that the right to the city and the right to the decent shelter is upheld by the government through the adoption of the in-city housing policy,” the lawmaker added.
Benitez said the summit also proposed the relocation of government agencies, like the Department of Agriculture, to provincial sites to provide more lands for socialized-housing programs.
“[With these lands] we are proposing the construction of medium rise, or four- to five-story buildings [with estimated 100,000 to 150,000 units],” he added.
Benitez said the proposal is not just for ISFs, but also for low- and middle-income earners, as they can have decent shelter under the government’s socialized-housing program, which will promote long-term housing rental for homeless Filipinos.
According to Benitez, affordable housing provides a more cost-effective solution to address homelessness in the Philippines.
“When we were young, we were taught to be kind and respectful. Don’t we give up our seats to the needy and less fortunate? Let us imagine that now, the government has the seat and you, the informal settlers, are the needy ones. What should be done? Shouldn’t the government leave and give up its position to the needy ones?” he said.
“That is also what should happen in housing issues. Why don’t some government offices transfer to other areas, instead of relocating informal settlers who need the land more? Why doesn’t the government vacate the space and give up the land to the ISFs? This is not only the right thing to do, but it is the government’s responsibility to do so,” Benitez said.