The House of Representatives is eyeing to allocate P50 billion starting next year in a renewed push for the passage of an on-site, in-city or near-city housing bill to address homelessness in the country.
House leaders gave the assurance as the committee on housing and urban development, in a resolution, recently declared a “housing crisis” in the Philippines.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, during a housing summit at the SJDM Convention Center in Bulacan, assured the House tie up with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to address the 6.7 million housing backlog in the country in the next 5 years.
Velasco said the lower chamber is committed to help address the housing backlog as shown by the passage of the on-site, in-city or near-city housing bill.
Velasco said House Bill 8248 institutionalizes on-site, in-city or near-city resettlement program that upholds the urban poor’s right to the city under a people’s plan.
The bill is now pending in the Senate.
The housing summit was attended by Velasco, House Committee on Housing and Urban Development vice chairperson and San Jose Del Monte Rep. Florida Robes, DHSUD Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, National Housing Authority General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr. and House Committee on Housing and Urban Development Francisco Benitez.
“In the 18th Congress, our priority is the on-site, in-city, near-city local government settlement program. We will build housing in the context of a community. You can count on Congress to accompany President Duterte in his commitment to building affordable and inclusive housing program that aims to provide decent and affordable housing to every Filipino,” Velasco said.
“The real challenge for us lies in providing decent and affordable housing to all Filipinos. Everyone deserves a safe place to live—every Filipino deserves decent houses. Proper housing for citizens is an important instrument to change the quality of life in society,” he added.
The Committee on Housing and Urban Development said housing programs should be prioritized as decent homes have a correlation to better health status, peace and order and higher productivity.
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