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Friday, March 29, 2024

Lawmaker seeks new housing dept

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A PARTY-LIST lawmaker is urging President Rodrigo Duterte and Congress to include in the priority legislative agenda the proposed creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, given that at least one-fourth of the country’s 102 million population remain homeless.

1PACMAN party-list Rep. Mikee Romero stressed the need for government to consolidate the functions of key housing agencies to address the burgeoning problem following the rising housing backlog.

Romero, author of House Bill 3639 or the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act of 2016, said his proposed measure would unify the functions of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council with the planning and regulatory functions of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.

Under the bill, key shelter agencies such as the National Housing Authority, Home Guaranty Corp., National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., Home Development and Mutual Fund and the Social Housing Finance Corp. will be attached to the proposed department.

At  the10-month housing summit during the 16th Congress, participating government agencies, non-government organizations and the private sector underscored the urgent need for a DHUD.

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Romero said with the consolidation of various functions of housing agencies, the DHUD is expected to execute policies that would best address the 5.5 million housing backlog, including an estimated 590,000 informal settler families.

“The enormous and increasing number of housing backlogs require a more concentrated government intervention that effectively sets and implements policy directions on housing and urban development,” he said.

Romero stressed there were inherent institutional weaknesses that were noted under the currrent set up that allows HLURB, HUDCC and other housing agencies to operate independently.

The HUDCC sets the policy direction for the state housing probram but its limited resources and authority as a mere coordinating body prevents it from implementing an overall urban development and housing strategy.

On the other hand, the HLURB, despite being an attached HUDCC body, has regulatory functions that possess weaknesses and lacks enough authority to effectively resolve housing and urban development controversies.

“The creation of the DHUD will address the absence of an adequate and coherent institutional set up that formulates and implements a comprehensive, integrated, inclusive and sustainable management of the housing and urban development sector,” Romero explained.

He added: “The DHUD and its attached key shelter agencies would be equipped with a strengthened adjudication commission that would provide long-term solutions in designing and managing disaster-resilient, competitive, inclusive communities.”

The proposed department is tasked to formulate a national and urban development and housing policy and strategy and exercise the lead role in supervising and integrating all government activities relative to housing and urban development.

The DHUD will formulate effective and efficient finance policies and programs to promote self-sustaining, private sector-led housing finance system and manage the development of proclaimed housing sites.

Zoning and land use control standards will be promulgated by the DHUD as it monitors local government compliance to housing and urban development laws and standards.

It shall be the lead agency in the disposition of govenment lands intended for housing and will have the authority to declare Urban development/renewal sites.

“The DHUD will also put in effect a single regulatory system that shall govern all activities relative to the planning, production, marketing and management of housing and urban developments,” said Romero.

The proposed agency is authorized to take over unfinished, incomplete and abandoned real estate development.

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