COA lauds Quezon City’s socialized housing project

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) has nothing but praise for Quezon City’s socialized housing program, which has so far provided decent homes for some 2,415 poor families.

In a 2014 report released yesterday, state auditors said the local government unit’s Bistekville project – named after a character Mayor Herbert Bautista played when he was an actor – is a big success.

Last year, Quezon City appropriated P180 million for the socialized housing program to boost efforts to provide shelter for those in need.

The COA report said such funding seeks to address the second biggest problem that the city’s constituents face, next only to employment. 

“In response, the city operationalized Bistekville for its socialized housing program, which reportedly accomplished a total of 893 housing units during the year,” state auditors said.

“Since the implementation of the housing program, Bistekville has far produced 2,415 housing units, with 8,179 more to accomplish,” the audit team reported. 

“The success of the city government’s socialized housing program has won the Galing Pook Awards in 2014. Likewise, the city’s effort was recognized and chosen by the Pag-ibig Fund as one of its top 20 Developers in 2014,” state auditors added.

The COA report acknowledged how Quezon City developed three types of financing packages, including the city’s own in-house financing program, to address different levels of capacity to pay among the poor.

Those who cannot afford to pay through any of the three financing options are referred to National Housing Authority (NHA) housing projects. 

The COA report also lauded Quezon City for its resettlement programs for families living in danger areas, whose lives have become more at risk because of the growing malevolence of previous calamities, particularly intermittent typhoons and monsoon rains unleashing floods and mudslides in the metropolis. 

“The reported data of the city covering years 2010 to August 2014, showed that of those resettled, 11,989 families from several danger areas in the city were relocated to NHA resettlement Sites in Bulacan and Rodriguez, Rizal,” state auditors said.