DHSUD vows on-site, in-city housing projects for urban informal settlers
The ghost of the failed housing relocation programs for urban informal settler families (ISFs) in the past has prompted the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to support an in-city housing projects.
But DHSUD Sec. Rizalino Acuzar said the in-city housing program will prioritize ISFs already living and working in cities to remain in close proximity to their livelihood.
A number of housing units constructed under the past administrations outside Metro Manila ended up abandoned as the supposed beneficiaries would go back as informal settlers in the metropolis.
In some cases, the beneficiaries would claim that they were forced to settle on housing projects with no stable supply of electricity and water.
"Previous public housing projects had been unsuccessful as families refuse to relocate away from cities. This will no longer be a problem because we are pushing for onsite, in-city housing projects," said Acuzar.
The DHSUD earlier met with local government units in Metro Manila to discuss housing projects.
Acuzar, however, said the focus of the housing projects are not merely ISFs, but also the working force.
Based on the data, each housing project to be launched in the country under the priority housing program would take “a year and a half” to be fully constructed, with the quality at par with township projects of private developers.
Data showed that the country’s housing backlog is pegged at more than 6.5 million units, 3.7 million of which are ISFs.
Of the number of ISFs, 500,000 are situated in the National Capital Region, particularly along hazardous areas.