October is National Shelter Month

The National Shelter Month is being observed in October under the auspices of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council chaired by Vice-President Noli de Castro. HUDCC’s objective is in line with the government’s housing efforts for the next three years and targets the bottom 40 percent of households who are unable to get formal housing assistance.

According to a study conducted by the Asian Development Bank, "housing and land markets in the Philippines have not kept pace with rapid urban growth, meaning half of the population now live in urban areas. This figure is expected to reach 60 percent by 2010. Furthermore, 40 percent of urban families live in makeshift dwellings in informal settlements."

"Access to land is a key constraint in housing the urban poor" says Michael Lindfield, an ADB senior housing finance specialist. "Market-based approaches must be found to close the gap between demand and supply, and to enable the sector to provide low-cost housing, financing, sites and services."

Thus, HUDCC’s strategy is to mount a Housing Fair which will run from October to April 2007. The theme of the fair is "Serbisyo Publiko na Tapat, Abot Kayang Pabahay ang Katapat." The first event will be held on October 27 to 28 at the Glorietta Center. Much publicized, the event is drawing wide interest from the citizens especially by those who live in rented apartments with rental rates so expensive that they are more than enough to pay for the monthly amortization of their own low-cost houses. The fair will also be launched simultaneously in Davao and Cebu. In line with President Arroyo’s Memorandum Circular no. 112 issued last September 7, key shelter agencies and government financing institutions such as the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC), the Home Guaranty Corp. (HGC) and the National Housing Authority (NHA) and government financial institutions, such as the GSIS, SSS, Land Bank and DBP, including the BSP were directed to open their acquired assets portfolio to all government employees for acquisition under reasonable terms and conditions. Thus, 60,000 housing units that have remained non-moving will be offered to house hunters at very low interest rates, low downpayment and longer paying period.

The Housing Fair is a good project that can contribute to national efforts to redistribute the growing population in the metropolis to the less-crowded provinces like Laguna, Bulacan and Rizal. About one-third of the total population is squeezed into the 13 small cities that make up Metro Manila. With half of the total population classified as poor per NSO statistics, shelter stands to be an acute need. Furthermore, one-third of the city’s 10-12 million people live in squatter communities or slums. Many families have just a single-room hut made of rusty roofs and secondhand wood. Luckier ones have hollow blocks as walls.

The lack of decent housing coupled with the increase in exodus of rural folks to urban areas remains to be a great challenge which must be addressed meaningfully. The efficient processing of documents and review of applications as well as the availability of long-term funding sources will contribute to a successful and sustainable housing assistance program for many Filipinos.