Homeless public-school teachers, barangay officials and other local government unit (LGU) employees can inherit thousands of unwanted military and police housing units if they want to acquire them, at minimal cost, according to the Housing and Urban Development Coordination Council (HUDCC).
In an interview with the BusinessMirror on Wednesday, HUDCC Chairman Eduardo del Rosario said the council estimates that around 25,562 teachers, barangay officials and LGU workers in areas where these housing units are located could benefit from the program.
For those who will avail themselves of the houses, they will be charged P200 a month, or P2,400 annually, for the first four years. This monthly payment will gradually increase starting the fifth year, until they are able to fully pay for the unit. “Those who will benefit will be the government employees in the locality. These houses will be given to LGU workers, such as teachers and barangay officials,” del Rosario added.
The government initially built 66,124 housing units for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). However, due to the location and the small sizes of the units, only 17 percent, or 11,000 units, have been occupied to date by the military and police force.
Del Rosario said among the primary reasons the AFP and PNP personnel refused to avail themselves of the housing units are the location and the size of each unit.
He added this is why the HUDCC has chosen to offer the units to government employees working in LGUs.
Apart from this, del Rosario said the HUDCC decided to expand each unit to 44 square meters, from the original 22 sq m, to give recipients more space. This is also why only 25,562 units will be offered toLGUs.
“[There was no] proper consultation. The main objective of the previous administration was to build houses just so the government can say it was able to provide housing units for the AFP and PNP,” del Rosario added.
“If the AFP/PNP cannot accept the units because they are too small, the LGU workers will also not accept them. So, instead of giving only 22 square meters, they will be given 44 square meters each,” he added.
Meanwhile, in terms of the 4,000 units occupied by Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), del Rosario said the government will honor the President’s commitment to them.
Del Rosario added that the National Housing Authority found that 90 percent of the Kadamay members who occupied the housing units were qualified recipients of the houses.
However, the government cannot give them additional space, like the arrangement they are extending to LGU employees.
“This is an exceptional case that should be treated that way. If they demand that [the] government give more free housing units, the government does not have the capacity to do that. [And if the government gives more free housing,] it will never end, so it has to stop. [There should be a] stop to forceful entry and a stop to giving houses for free,” del Rosario said.
Philippine InTstitute for Development Studies Vice President Marife Ballesteros agreed with this view that free housing places a lot of pressure on the government’s budget.
Ballesteros said significant financial pressure will be given to the government, considering there are about 900,000 Filipino families living in danger zones and those living as informal settlers in various locations nationwide.
She added this is on top of the estimated 144,00 housing needs of victims of various disasters.
“The housing cost is not that small,” Ballesteros told BusinessMirror. “Housing solutions, though are broad, and there are strategies the government can use with less burden on year-on-year budget.”
Based on HUDCC data, the housing need is around 5.56 million as of the end of 2016. Some 1.4 million are considered informal-settler families, and 40 percent of them are residing in Metro Manila.
The HUDCC also estimates that slum areas grow by 3.4 percent annually, making access to affordable housing a key development challenge for the Philippines.
In the past six years the national budget has only allocated 1.135 percent for housing, or around P23 billion annually.
The allocation decreased to only 0.12 percent of total GDP annually in 2000 to 2014, the lowest among Southeast Asian countries.