GM Tai seeks congress approval of EHAP Funds in 2023 for calamity victims

MANILA, Philippines — National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager Joeben Tai appealed for Congress' support and budget for implementing its Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) in 2023 so that it may continuously provide cash assistance to families affected by natural and man-made calamities.

According to GM Tai, under the DBM proposed budget of NHA for 2023, no funds were allocated for its EHAP implementation. The goal of EHAP, GM Tai said, is to provide quick response cash assistance to qualified low-income families affected by natural or man-made calamities to help them restart their lives and rebuild their homes.

Under EHAP, he added, NHA releases cash assistance of P10,000 to families whose houses were partially damaged and P30,000 for families whose homes were destroyed by man-made or natural calamities such as earthquakes, typhoons, flash floods, and fires.

When GM Tai assumed his position as the new NHA General Manager on August 1, 2022, he immediately ordered the release of EHAP funds to more than 42,000 families affected by the earthquake that hit Ilocos Sur and Abra on July 27, 2022, amounting to P275.545 million.

The GM said, "when I assumed the position in August, finding ways to help the families whose houses were damaged and destroyed by the earthquake was one of my priority concerns. With the EHAP funds, we were able to help the earthquake victim families through this financial aid."

Last October 7, 2022, he added, "We also assisted 458 families from 25 barangays in Zamboanga City who were fire victims, wherein we released P10,000 financial grants to each family."

"We intend to help more families through our EHAP. Our target is to provide quick assistance to 53,713 families affected by Typhoon Karding in Regions I, II, III, CALABARZON, and CAR. However, we can no longer do that because we no longer have EHAP funds for 2023," GM Tai said.

For this reason, GM Tai called on the leaders in Congress and Senate to reconsider giving back to NHA its EHAP funds, slashed in the proposed budget for 2023. He said, "I hope the Congress leadership will reconsider at maibalik po sa aming budget ang pondo para sa EHAP, so we can provide continuous assistance for 2023 and beyond."

Meanwhile, GM Tai has instructed all its Regional Managers in all provinces affected by Typhoon Karding to assess its damage, assist the LGUs in identifying affected families, and process documentary requirements.