A resolution seeking to declare a housing crisis in the Philippines was adopted by a House of Representatives panel on Wednesday.
The substitute resolution to HR 1468 drafted by Negros Occidental Rep. Francisco Benitez was approved by the Committee on Housing and Urban Development. Citing data from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, it was noted that there are 1.898 million informal settler families in the country, 478,899 of which reside in NCR.
The resolution also said that the private sector and the government have only constructed 777,879 housing units from July 2016 to June 2020, which is far from the 6.796 million housing units needed by 2022 due to factors like funding, which averaged 0.74% of the national budget from 2010-2021, and regulatory and land costs.
“The country’s vulnerability to natural disasters and the adverse impact of climate change threaten to displace families living in danger zones,” the resolution added, while also putting emphasis on the threats caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the urgent need for sustainable housing, lawmakers are urging the DHSUD and other concerned agencies to provide an inventory of idle government land and to fast-track the development of socialized housing in partnership with the private sector.
