THE Senate committee on urban planning, housing and resettlement chaired by Senator JV Ejercito is eyeing the creation of the Department of Human Settlement or Department of Housing in the next two or three years to help solve the increasing housing backlogs in the country currently estimated to reach more than 5.5 million.
To grace a convention of stakeholders on the housing industry, Ejercito said the new department will put into one office at least six government agencies under the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) involved in housing towards an integrated and wholistic approach to solve the housing problem.
The senator said that Vice President Leni Robredo will then have a full department to back her up on her programs.
The plan will include the construction of medium high rise buildings in Davao, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and other urban centers to accommodate the informal settlers near their livelihood areas.
Squatting is getting to be a major problem in the country aggravated by livelihood displacement, Ejercito said.
The senator reiterated that under the balanced housing act or Republic Act (RA) 7279, otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, the law calls for subdivision owners and developers to set aside 20 percent of the total project cost to put up a socialized housing program for the host local government unit.
The law also calls for condominium owners and developers to set aside five percent of the total project for socialized housing program.
The existing law provides a new manner and modes of compliance from the Housing Land Use and Regulatory Board.
These modes of compliance include balanced housing development, development of new settlement, slum upgrading, joint venture with either local government units or housing agencies, and participation in Community Mortgage Program.
Ejercito admitted he is more focus on the daily problems of the country such as housing and transportation.
He is also batting for a railway system to solve the traffic problem in urban centers as the Philippines is some 15 years behind on the mass transit as compared to other countries in Asia.
