Lawmaker wants idle socialized houses reclaimed by gov’t.

[Lee]

Quote

 

MANILA, Philippines — Pinuno Rep. Ivan Howard Guintu aims to empower the government to reclaim unoccupied socialized housing units through House Bill No. 9258.

The bill suggests modifying Presidential Decree No. 757, which established the National Housing Authority (NHA), to strengthen the authority’s ability to revoke housing awards for those who delay occupancy.

He pointed out tens of thousands of socialized housing units remain unoccupied long after they were awarded to the beneficiaries.

Guintu filed the measure in September. It is pending before the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development.

In his bill’s explanatory note, Guintu cited data from the NHA which showed that 22,635 housing units were awarded but remained unoccupied or vacant as of June 2022.

“The substantial number of unoccupied or abandoned housing units of the NHA calls for measures to ensure that housing units are awarded and utilized by qualified and deserving beneficiaries who will use and occupy the same,” the lawmaker said.

Unoccupied for 1 year

Under PD 757, signed by then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1975, no provision allows the NHA to revoke the award of housing units to beneficiaries or to evict beneficiaries who fail to pay the amortization for housing units.

The NHA is the sole national agency mandated to engage in housing production for low-income families. In February 2019, it was placed under the administrative supervision of the newly created Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.

The measure also proposed authorizing the NHA to revoke the award if the housing unit is occupied by another party who is neither the original beneficiary nor any member of his or her household.

Inventory

The NHA will then transfer the housing unit to the actual occupants and will return a “reasonable portion of the amortization payments” to the original beneficiary, the bill states.

HB 9258 also proposed that the NHA and local government units conduct an inventory of unoccupied and abandoned socialized housing units.

In March, Guintu filed House Resolution No. 838 pressing the NHA to take back around 18,000 low-cost housing units that were unoccupied or abandoned and to award these to other beneficiaries.

He stressed the need for the NHA “and other key shelter agencies to conduct an inventory of unoccupied and abandoned housing units for the awarding to qualified homeless and informal settler families to prevent wastage of money.”

Flagship program

President Marcos has made low-cost socialized housing as one of his legacy flagship programs.

The administration’s “Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program” is targeting the construction of one million homes each year until 2028 to address the Philippines’ overall housing backlog of 6.7 million homes as of 2021.

In March 2017, the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), an urban poor group, occupied about 6,000 socialized housing units in Bulacan province meant for resettlement communities and government uniformed personnel.

This drew the ire of then-President Rodrigo Duterte, who threatened to shoot down the informal settlers.

But a month later, he asked the original beneficiaries, including soldiers and police officers, to let the occupants stay, vowing to build better homes for them elsewhere. The Kadamay members have since settled into the community.

 

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[Kingpin]

On 12/29/2023 at 5:49 AM, Lee said:

22,635 housing units were awarded but remained unoccupied or vacant as of June 2022.

Yep, another failed 'international' strategy. Instead of wasting all that money building hot-boxes no one wants, they should have just listened to the people and given it to them.

[scott h]

19 minutes ago, Kingpin said:

given it to them.

We have one of these projects not far from us. It is at least 10 years old, almost abandoned and in very bad shape. 3 or 4 stories high and about two hundred meters long. I asked around years ago about the place and was given a variety of opinions. The most common was "the poor do not appreciate anything that they dont have to work for" (sounds like the housing projects in Chicago). The next is that it is located to far from the areas that the poor normally work.  Another opinion was "I dont really care, as long as those provincial beggars stay there and away from our neighborhood" (typical NIMBY attitude )

[hk blues]

7 hours ago, scott h said:

We have one of these projects not far from us. It is at least 10 years old, almost abandoned and in very bad shape. 3 or 4 stories high and about two hundred meters long. I asked around years ago about the place and was given a variety of opinions. The most common was "the poor do not appreciate anything that they dont have to work for" (sounds like the housing projects in Chicago). The next is that it is located to far from the areas that the poor normally work.  Another opinion was "I dont really care, as long as those provincial beggars stay there and away from our neighborhood" (typical NIMBY attitude )

We have one which is stuck out in the country where a car would really be needed as public transport is limited. Pretty derelict and few folk living there.

But, who cares as money will have been made by those involved.

[Mike J]

18 hours ago, hk blues said:

We have one which is stuck out in the country where a car would really be needed as public transport is limited. Pretty derelict and few folk living there.

I think you have hit on one of the major challenges with social housing.  The  high price of land, especially in the city, means the housing ends up well away from urban areas.  This urban area is where the poor are going to try and earn a living ether working menial jobs or begging.  There is really no money to travel back and forth.   The other challenge is NIMBY, "not in my backyard".   The houses end up being built in areas that really do not work for the poor and they end up squatting closer to where they can earn a bit of money.