Citing lack of employment and livelihood opportunities, several urban poor groups under Task Force Relocatees from in-city and off-city relocation sites administered by the National Housing Authority (NHA) have renewed their call to scrap the payment of monthly amortization for the government’s low-cost housing.
At least 5 different groups of relocatees from Southville 8C and Kasiglahan Village in Rodriguez, Rizal and Northville 1 and 2 in Valenzuela and Caloocan City aired this demand in a noise barrage protest outside the main office of the NHA on Wednesday.
Coinciding with the protest, some 30 relocatees leaders assisted Anakpawis Representative Fernando Hicap had a dialogue with Assistant General Manager Froilan Campitan.
Case-to-case basis
Among the measures reached by the dialogue is a case-to-case implementation of NHA’s collection of monthly amortization among housing beneficiaries.
This after leaders have complained about the agency’s scheme of imposing mandatory payment of amortization as requisite for relocatees to avail themselves of of basic facilities such as electricity and water supply.
Many of them have also received notices of eviction and padlocking for failing to pay the monthly amortization to the NHA.
The NHA meanwhile admitted its failure to provide the basic facilities as well as livelihood and employment opportunities in the relocation sites, which are requisite before transferring the urban poor to the government’s low-cost housing.
PPP as culprit
According to Carlito Badion, convenor of TF Relocatees and national secretary-general of urban poor group Kadamay, said that the implementation of big 'development projects' in Metro Manila and other urban centers under Aquino's Public-Private Partnership program is primarily behind the massive eviction of urban poor from their communities.
"The massive and involuntary transfer of urban poor to far-flung relocation sites that are bereft of basic social services and far from sources of employment, has actually reversed the migration trend in the Philippines in recent years, while subjecting hundreds of thousands of urban poor to deeper penury," the leader cited.
Broker of low-cost housing contracts
Badion added that the NHA in years has acted as broker of government contracts with low-cost housing firms, spending billions of pesos of annual housing budget as capital.
The group also cited the possible of corruption with the Aquino administration’s Informal Settler Fund, supposedly worth P10-billion every year for the housing of settlers living along waterways in Metro Manila.
“With billions of ISF being used to finance the government’s housing program, why the substandard structure of government housing? If it’s taxpayers’ money used to build the homes, why do we need to pay for it at a rate twice if not thrice the original cost of construction? Where does the fund go? Who earn from the government’s low-cost housing program?,” asked Badion.
Kadamay has called on the urban poor in government’s relocation sites to stop paying for the monthly amortization, as long as the government fails to treat housing as business rather than service.
‘Investment-friendly environment’ in the housing sector
At least 5 different groups of relocatees from Southville 8C and Kasiglahan Village in Rodriguez, Rizal and Northville 1 and 2 in Valenzuela and Caloocan City aired this demand in a noise barrage protest outside the main office of the NHA on Wednesday.
Coinciding with the protest, some 30 relocatees leaders assisted Anakpawis Representative Fernando Hicap had a dialogue with Assistant General Manager Froilan Campitan.
Case-to-case basis
Among the measures reached by the dialogue is a case-to-case implementation of NHA’s collection of monthly amortization among housing beneficiaries.
This after leaders have complained about the agency’s scheme of imposing mandatory payment of amortization as requisite for relocatees to avail themselves of of basic facilities such as electricity and water supply.
Many of them have also received notices of eviction and padlocking for failing to pay the monthly amortization to the NHA.
The NHA meanwhile admitted its failure to provide the basic facilities as well as livelihood and employment opportunities in the relocation sites, which are requisite before transferring the urban poor to the government’s low-cost housing.
PPP as culprit
According to Carlito Badion, convenor of TF Relocatees and national secretary-general of urban poor group Kadamay, said that the implementation of big 'development projects' in Metro Manila and other urban centers under Aquino's Public-Private Partnership program is primarily behind the massive eviction of urban poor from their communities.
"The massive and involuntary transfer of urban poor to far-flung relocation sites that are bereft of basic social services and far from sources of employment, has actually reversed the migration trend in the Philippines in recent years, while subjecting hundreds of thousands of urban poor to deeper penury," the leader cited.
Broker of low-cost housing contracts
Badion added that the NHA in years has acted as broker of government contracts with low-cost housing firms, spending billions of pesos of annual housing budget as capital.
The group also cited the possible of corruption with the Aquino administration’s Informal Settler Fund, supposedly worth P10-billion every year for the housing of settlers living along waterways in Metro Manila.
“With billions of ISF being used to finance the government’s housing program, why the substandard structure of government housing? If it’s taxpayers’ money used to build the homes, why do we need to pay for it at a rate twice if not thrice the original cost of construction? Where does the fund go? Who earn from the government’s low-cost housing program?,” asked Badion.
Kadamay has called on the urban poor in government’s relocation sites to stop paying for the monthly amortization, as long as the government fails to treat housing as business rather than service.
‘Investment-friendly environment’ in the housing sector
According to Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016, the Aquino government has encouraged the creation of an ‘investment-friendly environment’ in the housing sector through Public-Private Partnership based on the neoliberal framework that takes away from the government its responsibilities to provide its citizens basic social services, while it favors the interest of local and foreign housing investors.
Badion added that neoliberal dictates have imposed the allotment for housing at not more than 1% of the national budget, with the exception of allotment on 2000 at 2013, where the housing budget is 1.4% and 1.5% of the national budget respectively.
"Very meager as it is, huge chunk of the housing budget is allotted for the housing of Metro Manila informal settlers which takes 68.6% of the 2015 national housing fund," he ended.
Badion added that neoliberal dictates have imposed the allotment for housing at not more than 1% of the national budget, with the exception of allotment on 2000 at 2013, where the housing budget is 1.4% and 1.5% of the national budget respectively.
"Very meager as it is, huge chunk of the housing budget is allotted for the housing of Metro Manila informal settlers which takes 68.6% of the 2015 national housing fund," he ended.
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