Go pushes passage of bills to address homelessness

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go pressed yesterday for the passage of measures that seek to address homelessness in the country through affordable financing schemes.

He cited Senate Bill 203 and SB 1227 that he filed to lessen housing problems in the country “by providing means for Filipinos to have a home of their own, especially displaced families affected by incidents such as fires and disasters.”

“I’ve visited many fire victims and they need to be able to get back on their feet through low-cost housing programs and development, including the construction of safe and permanent evacuation centers and housing assistance for fire victims,” Go said in a statement.

“The reason why I filed these bills is because of my aim that there will be no more squatters. I want each Filipino family to have a decent home,” he said.

SB 203 or the proposed National Housing Development, Production and Financing Act aims to significantly accelerate housing production and ensure sufficient reliable government funding and financing for socialized housing in the coming years.

SB 1227 or the proposed Rental Subsidy Program Act seeks to provide homes for displaced families and help them sustain their livelihoods by offering them various options during the interim process of construction and relocation.

He said poor and congested urban areas hampered efforts to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Go also expressed his support for SB 65 filed by Sen. Pia Cayetano that seeks to mandate cities and communities to transition to sustainable cities and communities, especially during this health crisis. Go said the country needs bold solutions that will address its problems especially those brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

He recalled that it was primarily also because of the pandemic and high number of infections in the highly-congested Metro Manila that he proposed that the government implement a Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa program.

Last May 4, he filed Senate Resolution 380 to push for such a program; the same was adopted by the chamber on the same day.

The program is now institutionalized through Executive Order 114, issued by President Duterte, with an inter-agency council purposely created to craft policies and implement various short-term and long-term programs.