Housing backlog to hit 5.56 M – Leni

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s backlog in housing units is expected to increase to 5.56 million by the end of this year, according to Vice President Leni Robredo.

With the number of slums increasing at an average rate of 3.4 percent annually, the country’s spending for socialized housing remained one of the lowest in Southeast Asia, Robredo said.

Robredo, chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), noted that in the last six years, only 1.135 percent of the national budget or about P23 billion per year was allotted for the government’s housing programs.

“From 2000 to 2014, only 0.12 percent was allocated for housing, the lowest among Southeast Asian countries,” the Vice President said during the recent social development initiatives summit in Davao City.

Robredo said the number of informal settler families (ISFs) nationwide are expected to hit 5.56 million by the end of this year.

Citing the 2011 data of the National Housing Authority, Robredo said 584,425 ISFs live in Metro Manila; 221,284 reside in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region, and 117,670 are in Central Luzon.

To address the housing backlog, the Vice President asked for the creation of a P50-billion housing fund either through an executive order or legislation.

She also backed the passage of a bill seeking the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as the issuance of an executive order that would strengthen the HUDCC’s authority to oversee urbanization process.

Robredo proposed the establishment of community development assistance, which is similar to Thailand’s Community Organizations Development Institute, and the creation of local housing boards in cities.

Earlier, the Vice President lamented the lack of a complete inventory of land available for socialized housing and ISFs.

Robredo said there were relocation sites built outside Metro Manila in the past years, but these turned out to be failures due to the lack of basic utilities and livelihood.

“We believe that we have to do in-city relocation,” she said.