A service to the men and women in the service

Armscor, the country’s leading manufacturer and exporter of handguns and ammunitions of superior quality, opened a room of opportunities for our brothers and sisters in the service.  Armscor Shooting Center headed by Ms. Gina Angangco recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the AFP Commissary & Exchange Service that would enable the AFP servicemen and women to purchase their own personal handguns, which are of course Armscor-made at a hefty discount which starts at 15 percent. A particular model which many were fondling even had a 25 percent discount.  On top of that, Armscor Shooting Center pledged assistance in securing the necessary permits for private gun ownership.

They inaugurated the Product Information Center just recently with Lt. Gen. Victorino Macapagal, deputy chief of staff of the AFP and chairman of the board of trustees and Com. Gen. Alvin Javier, the deputy chief of staff for personnel of the AFP and chairman of the AFPCES Executive Committee in attendance.

The AFPCES Chair made it clear that with this MOA signing, the privilege has been extended to the commissary personnel. Armscor Shooting Center had earlier granted this privilege to the AFP staff, and with this move, all the servicemen detailed with the various commissaries spread throughout the country can now avail of the discounted prices of Armscor.

Continuing bureaucracy in the country’s mass housing

The news that thousands of informal settlers, especially those living in dire conditions along esteros, will finally be removed and housed is great. The esteros need to be cleaned and rehabilitated once these families are finally evacuated because through the years, tons and tons of garbage and excrement have rendered them hopelessly clogged and toxic. With families living there on a permanent basis for years, this is an inescapable result.  All those shanties are without hygiene facilities, and they are crammed with people, so what can you expect?

The immediate solution is mass housing which is obviously going to cost the government a tidy sum. Unfortunately, the government’s woes do not end there. With decent and livable houses now provided for them, these families need a source of living, and with the thousands of jobless Filipinos, many of them college graduates in fact, now scouring the metro and beyond for job opportunities, the government cannot be expected to give these relocated families these precious jobs on a silver platter, along with the brand new homes.

Those families who have been living along the esteros obviously could source out a living from their habitat and have survived all these years. In a new settlement which presumably is not within easy travelling distance of the metropolis, opportunities are rarer if at all, and the distance precludes all other activities that they have gotten used to. It is a sad fact, but many of these families may appreciate the brand new home for a while, but several of them will scurry back to the esteros in no time to try and eke out a living for their families. Clearly, a long-term plan has to come along with the relocation plans.  Meanwhile, those esteros must be guarded well and inspected regularly to prevent the influx. After one family has surreptitiously settled in, you cannot imagine how quickly they can rebuild their communities.

Speaking of mass housing, the country’s housing backlog has reached epic proportions. According to the president of CREBA Charlie Gorayeb, in 2001 our backlog was already 3.7 million houses.  That was 12 years ago, and computing the backlog at a mere 200,000 units a year, the resultant figure is a housing czar’s nightmare.

Vice President Jojo Binay has taken up the cudgels for the homeless Filipino, and nobody envies him the job, though the country’s realtors are all appreciative of his relentless efforts and his dedication to the mission he has chosen for himself. The realtors have found an ally in him amidst the bureaucracy that they have to contend with. Where one agency gives them incentives, another agency tries to remove them, or at least invalidate the benefits derived from such benefits through additional burdens like taxation, fees, etc. This is the lament of CREBA members.

According to Charlie, the government has approached them to help address the snowballing housing backlog and they have risen up to the challenge. Urban housing through medium-rise building is their answer to this challenge of affordable and viable mass housing in the country.

They regret that the housing bill proposed by Sen. Bongbong Marcos was not acted upon, and some quarters are moving heaven and earth to block it.

Charlie says that the non-socialized housing developers are required, under RA 7279, to allocate 20 percent of their subdivisions to socialized housing, but their association is committed to toeing the line. However, the CREBA adds that while the national government has granted them incentives to provide mass housing, other government agencies like the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for instance, as well as numerous local governments are giving them the run-around as they strive to provide mass housing for our homeless. He cites the Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR), a document needed to register the constructed houses under the buyer’s name. Where before, this document could be obtained from any BIR field office in any part of the country, the new ruling provides that the CAR can only be obtained from the main office which is in Manila.  What happens to those in, say, far-flung Mindanao.  The cost of transportation and the time spent for travelling are additional burdens for the buyer and the developer.

He also cited the incredible red tape in the municipalities. Everyone, from the barangay captain to the mayor has a signature somewhere in the flow of paper work.  There is the issue of re-classification, the consent of the Department of Agrarian Reform, etc., etc.  All in all, Mr. Gorayeb says, they need 87 signatures for a developer to secure a development permit. Incredible!

Their plea is for the national government to give back to the Housing and Land Use Authority the job of issuing the development permits.  Their only ally, it seems to Charlie, is the country’s housing czar, Jojo Binay, but there are many insurmountable odds.

The country’s mass housing saga continues.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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