MANILA, Philippines — The National Housing Authority will award housing units intended for the police and soldiers to other qualified beneficiaries if they decide not to live in them, its head said Tuesday.
"We propose that this can be given to public school teachers, to employees of local government units, to barangay officials and functionaries and to the informal settlers who are qualified to the program," NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr. said during a joint Congressional committee hearing on the government's housing program.
This was in response to a question from House housing and urban development committee chairman and Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez on what will happen to the housing units if the police officers and soldiers whom the units were awarded choose not to to live in them.
The hearing was conducted after members of urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) occupied about 6,000 housing units in Bulacan intended for police and military beneficiaries.
The group justified the move by saying that the housing units were unoccupied.
READ: Duterte asks cops, soldiers: Let Kadamay keep housing units
President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the police and soldiers to let the Kadamay members keep the housing units and promised to have better houses built for them.
Escalada said that they have already set a May 30 deadline, subject to an extension of up to June 15 to both the housing boards of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to come up with a master list of those who want to occupy their awarded housing units.
"If not, after June 15 your honor, that will be our base figure insofar as the pronouncement of the president that we might as well give this to the members of the qualified beneficiaries as a result of this hearing," Escalada said.
Units too small, far away for security personnel
Supt. Antonio Taylan, PNP Engineering Service director, said during the hearing the housing units are too far from where the police beneficiaries work.
He added that the housing units are too small with a floor area of just 22 sq.m.
Lt. Col. Leonido Yanson, AFP housing board secretary and AFP real estate office housing division, said that the military personnel are in the field and are far from the housing projects.
He also added that the military personnel are also short on funds for improvements to their housing units.
"Of course, our personnel want to improve first their respective awarded houses before their occupancy," Yanson said, adding that they are also still waiting for further development of the site itself.
Escalada said that according to the data of NHA architect Susan Nonato, about 17,435 beneficiaries of the 52,000 awardees signed NHA-assigned loan documents, which would mean that some are interested in living in the awarded housing units.