What I consider was a good initiative from my predecessor when I was still in government was the MMDA Worker’s Inn. Operating as a low-priced lodging facility, it was a self-sustaining project with its occupancy at any given time close to 100 percent. Priced at P100 per night at that time, it was a no-frills dorm type set-up with no air-conditioning and with spartan facilities. But patrons never complained. Rather than spending 30 percent of their wages on the daily 4-5-hour public transport commute from their homes in Cavite, Laguna or Bulacan, they would stay at the inn for the workweek and go home during the weekends. This resulted in substantial savings for the workers, not to mention the quality work time they provide to their employers in Metro Manila. It was a good project with lots of benefits. Unfortunately, I found out that the program was discontinued sometime after I left the agency.
The urban migration that we are now experiencing is a global phenomenon brought about by the lack of livelihood in areas outside the urban centers. Whether it be the favelas in Brazil, the projects in LA, or the walled city in Hong Kong, such informal and densely populated communities are but by-products of the need to house these urban migrants. In his book, “The Arrival Cities,” author Doug Sanders wrote that a third of humanity is on the move…creating this century’s focal points of conflict and change. And indeed conflict, as increasing urban populations lead to much inequality and stress on government services, not to mention pollution, congestion, and crime.
In our own backyard, the government is responding to this through its housing projects, although it is barely keeping up with the demand, allocating a measly 1 percent of its national budget. On the drawing board are plants to create new urban centers outside the metropolis, which would hopefully reduce the stress that is currently burdening Metro Manila. But such initiatives take time to materialize, not to mention the required “whole of government” approach, which is so difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, the demand for urban housing will only continue to grow.
One ready and proven approach would be the setting up of in-city dwelling centers similar to the Worker’s Inn that the MMDA used to operate. This can be done at a fraction of the cost of building houses, as well as the time needed for the government to immediately provide temporary but adequate shelters to the millions of urban workers that travel to Metro Manila everyday. What can be immediately utilized for this are the many unused government buildings that are scattered all over Metro Manila, which can be rehabilitated for minimal costs.
The government can also leverage its many empty lands for private developers to use under a public-private partnership, where they can put up shelter and lodging facilities that can then be leased to private individuals.
The only problem with this kind program is that it will not provide urban housing “ownership” to the intended beneficiaries, which is the traditional mindset of what shelter means to the majority of our people. But this should not matter nor should affect the present housing roadmap of the government. Temporary shelters/lodging facilities such as the MMDA Worker’s Inn can go hand in hand with the need for permanent housing that all of us aspire for.
The population of Metro Manila grows by at least 5 million during the daytime. Imagine the benefits that will be reaped with the substantial reduction of this number of entrants: traffic decongestion, pollution reduction, as well as the overall urban well-being of everyone in Metro Manila. This may just be a stopgap measure, but the ingredients for the success of such a solution is at hand, not to mention that its benefits have been proven with the MMDA Worker’s Inn. All that the government needs to do is to embark on such a program again.
The author may be reached at tmo45@georgetown.edu