PRESS RELEASE l 18 October 2011
MANILA, Philippines—According to a national alliance of urban poor groups, there is no hope that the existing housing program of the Aquino administration will answer the squatting problem in the country's urban centers. The defective housing programs allegedly left residents to barricade their communities and reject the relocation package offered by the National Housing Authority.
Gloria Arellano, national secretary-general of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) said the struggle of the urban poor sector does not end in the defense of their communities that are in constant threat of demolition. She added, "the situation is worse in the relocation sites and there’s no other way for the relocatees but to go back to street where they have learned to fight for their basic human rights."
On Friday, housing czar Jejomar Binay announced to public a massive housing program with a 1.5M housing target by 2016. But Arellano said, “this massive housing program only means massive dislocation of urban poor families from their communities."
"The lack of livelihood opportunities in the relocation sites has driven many relocatees to sell their units and go back to their old communities," Arellano said. "The financial assistance that was part of the relocation package only lasted for days. There would be no choice for the relocatees but to come back to the urban center, where they can earn enough money to feed their families."
Repeal UDHA
According to Anakpawis partylist, the existing housing programs of the government will never answer the squatting problem in the country. The Office of Anakpawis Representative Rafael Mariano has drafted a resolution to repeal Republic Act No. 7279, otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (UDHA). “socialized housing as housing programs and projects covering houses and lots or homelots only undertaken by the Government or the private sector for the underprivileged and homeless citizens which shall include sites and services development, long-term financing, liberalized terms on payments, and such other benefits in accordance with the provisions of this Act.”
According to Kadamay, Lina Law “legitimizes demolition of urban poor communities as long as residents are given notices of eviction and a measly amount of financial assistance.” This, according to the group, is not accounting for the social and economic degradation inflicted on the relocatees.
27 listed resettlement sites
Based on the documents from the National Housing Authority (NHA) and Presidential Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP), there are 27 listed resettlement sites operating under NHA national office for the families dislocated by rehabilitation of the Philippine National Railway System, families affected by the North Triangle Development Project in Quezon City, informal settlers of Metro Manila and nearby local government units and qualified beneficiaries from danger areas, waterways, government infrastructure projects and others.
In a research conducted by Center on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), an international human rights organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, living conditions at most of the relocation sites are appalling due to lack of basic services such as potable water, electricity and sanitation facilities. Moreover, there have been numerous problems associated with the relocation process such as lack of consultation with affected families, insufficient government loans for the construction of houses and lack of livelihood opportunities.
Under the relocation scheme, the government provides each family with a loan (payable in 25-30 years with 6-9% interest per annum), with varying repayment schemes. COHRE documented that the loan ranged from PhP 25,000 to PhP 200,000 per family. In many cases, the loan is not sufficient to construct a house. In Southville relocation site, Cabuyao, Laguna, a large number of houses are incomplete with no roofs and dirt floors.
Towerville relocation sites
In Towerville, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, aside from lack of basic facilities, the relocated families found it difficult to pay for the high monthly amortization of their lots, which cost between PhP 100,000 and PhP 125,000, payable within 25-30 years at a 6% interest. There is lack of livelihood opportunities for those who have been relocated because the sites are far away from the residents’ sources of livelihood in Metro Manila.
Also in Towerville, NHA provided the beneficiaries with an interest-free loan of PhP 50,000 for the construction of their own houses. The amount covers expenses on construction materials (PhP 40,000) and labor (PhP 10,000). Food subsidy (PhP 1,000) was also provided. But the beneficiaries had to purchase from their loans construction materials that were overpriced and of inferior quality.
Kasiglahan relocation sites
In Kasiglahan Village I in Rodriquez, Rizal, a resettlement community for urban poor families affected by the Pasig River Rehabilitation Program and known as the Erap City during the Estrada Administration, the monthly amortization of PhP 1,437 is deemed unaffordable by its largely unemployed residents. There is hardly any economic activity inside and within the vicinity of the resettlement.
Profit-driven socialized housing projects
Anakpawis has uncovered a case of grossly overvalued lands bought by the NHA for the resettlement sites. In a list of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), as of June 2008, among the list of corporate developers are New San Jose Builders and the Goldenville Realty and Development Corporations. The two corporations were the developers of most resettlement projects in Laguna and Bulacan. News Reports claimed that Jose Acuzar is the said owner of these companies involved in the 2004 Towerville resettlement project where overpriced housing construction materials were sold to the affected families of the Northrail Project.
Arellano criticized the existing policy in connection with the State’s socialized housing projects for being “profit-driven.” The government housing agencies and the private sector collude, to extract as much profits and kickbacks as possible from what is supposed to be a social service especially to the poor, making mass housing costly to poor informal settlers;
CMP for the relocatees
Although the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) is a housing program for the relocatees where a piece of land is awarded to the resident’s association, residents could hardly pay for the monthly amortization as most of them do not have a stable source of income. It is inevitable for residents abandoning or transferring the home-lots they are awarded, due to lack of opportunities and services;
According to Anakpawis, unscrupulous private individuals and public officials have used the relocation projects for every opportunity to engage in corruption. Kickbacks and payoffs are extracted at almost every stage of the resettlement project. The purchase of overpriced properties allows the well-connected property owners to connive with housing officials.
Rep. Mariano said “the very idea of eroding government involvement in the delivery of housing infrastructures and services, and encouragement of greater participation of the private sector will most like turn mass housing into a profit-making enterprise for big companies instead of providing service to the poor.”
The lawmaker is expected to file a resolution in the Lower House as session resumes in November asking the Committee on Housing and Urban Development to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the implementation of the government’s socialized housing, which allegedly turned out into a business venture-like housing program.###
Reference: Gloria Arellano, Kadamay national secretary-general (09213927457)
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