Government relocation program has limitations - PCUP

MANILA, Philippines - The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) said yesterday that the government’s Emergency Land Acquisition Assistance for Victims of Eviction and Demolition (ELAVED) program has limitations.

In a letter to The STAR, the agency tasked to help relocate poor families “covers only the land acquisition phase to ensure security of tenure of victims of unprogrammed demolition.”

“Because of this limitation, the PCUP has started forging partnerships with different sectors of society for the land development, core housing and community organizing to ensure the project’s sustainability and to include several phases in tenure security,” officer-in-charge Romeo Lagahit said.

The statement was in reaction to a Commission on Audit (COA) report that stated the government “failed to effectively implement the program’s objective of responding to the emergency needs of demolished underprivileged families with no relocation assistance.”

The COA found that from 2005 to 2009, PCUP targeted 5,837 beneficiaries but only 854 actually benefited from the ELAVED program.

To prevent such failures, COA said the agency should determine the needs of the targeted beneficiaries and give more attention to address the causes of the problems affecting the implementation of the financial assistance for land tenure security.

The audit report said PCUP should also conduct proper planning before embarking on a project to lessen the impact of the problems that may be encountered during its implementation.

In the agency’s defense, Lagahit said “we have also clarified these issues and problems with the COA and have submitted our recommendations to the same. Rest assured that the (PCUP) is doing its best to effectively carry out said recommendations.”