Davao City – Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte beefed up the technical working group (TWG) of the Local Housing Board to formulate the city’s local shelter plan.
Duterte signed Executive Order (E.O.) No. 15, known as “An Order Reconstituting The Technical Working Group Of The Local Housing Board For The Formulation Of The Local Shelter Plan Of Davao City,” which was released on March 23.
E.O. 15 cited Davao City Ordinance No. 014-17, Series of 2007, otherwise known as “The Shelter Code of Davao City”, creating the Davao City Housing Board or Local Housing Board and its composition, and directing it to craft the Local Comprehensive Shelter Plan.
Section 22 of the Shelter Code of Davao City, which states that the formulation of the Comprehensive Shelter Plan (CSP) shall be done in coordination with the City Housing Office, was also cited.
However, with the inexistence of the City Housing Office, the Housing and Homesite Development Division under the Office of the City Planning and Development Coordinator currently undertakes the functions of the City Housing Office.
Duterte’s E.O. 15 also cited Section 17 of “The Shelter Code of Davao City”, which states that representatives of other agencies and institutions can be invited as resource persons or as members of the Technical Working Group formed by the Housing Board in aid of policy, program development, and implementation, as well as Executive Order No. 25 Series of 2016 created the members of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Local Housing Board (LHB).
“In order to effectively carry out its mandate, there is a need to reconstitute the members of the Technical Working Group of the Local Housing Board,” Duterte said in her order.
The LHB TWG, according to E.O. 15, shall be composed of the Office of the City Planning and Development Coordinator, City Engineer’s Office, City Assessor’s Office, City Social Welfare and Development Office, City Budget Office, City Legal Office, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and Committee on Housing, Rural and Urban Development, while representatives from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, Department of Interior and Local Government, National Housing Authority, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples may be invited or consulted to provide inputs to the Local Shelter Plan (LSP).
E.O. 15 directed TWG members to name two respective alternate permanent representatives who shall take their place in case of their absence.
The TWG is also ordered to gather available data and process information relevant to the preparation of the LSP; ensure policy coordination and uniformity in operational directions for shelter planning; ensure that LSP is in line with the national and local policies and standards; establish or maintain linkages and seek substantial inputs from government agencies, civity society organizations, and private sector in all stages of the local shelter planning and development; initiate community validation and consultation; and formulate the LSP for the approval of the LHB.
Meanwhile, all offices under the City Government of Davao, which TWG will be tapped, are also “directed to provide their full and active support and their utmost cooperation to the TWG and the LSP.” The mayor also called on national agencies to extend their support and assistance to the TWG.
Available funds of the City Government of Davao will shoulder the operational costs of the TWG, subject to the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
The TWG will also function as a special unit, which exists only for the duration of the LSP as determined by the City Mayor.
Access E.O. 15 in this link here https://www.davaocity.gov.ph/transparency/executive-orders/2021-2/.
(City Information Office | Michael Manguhig, RPN DXKT Davao OIC)
