Senate OKs bill creating housing department

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate approved on third and final reading the bill to create the Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD).

Senate Bill 3199, which was approved with 16 votes, would consolidate the functions of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the planning and regulatory powers of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) in the DHUD.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the sponsor of the bill, said that the creation of the DHUD could help bring down the housing backlog in the country.

“The bill shall address the increasing demand for urban poor housing, regulate urban growth and prevent deterioration of the environment,” said Marcos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement.

The HLURB would be reconstituted into the Adjudication Commission for Housing, Land Use and Urban Development, which would be attached to the DHUD for policy planning and program coordination.

The DHUD would serve as the primary national government entity responsible for the management of housing and urban development.

Based on the bill, the DHUD would be the sole and main planning and policy-making, regulatory, program coordination, and performance monitoring entity for all housing and urban development concerns, primarily focusing on the access to and affordability of the basic human need.

Once the bill is enacted into law, Vice President Jejomar Binay could end up heading the DHUD since he is the current housing czar of the Aquino administration as chairman of the HLURB.