Go after builders of substandard housing units, gov’t urged
A former militant lawmaker on Thursday said parties involved in the building of substandard government housing projects should be held accountable.
“Some form of accountability needs to be undertaken towards everyone that had been involved in building all of those houses,” Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) chairman Terry Ridon said in a Palace briefing.
Ridon was referring to the housing projects occupied by the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) in Pandi, Bulacan that were allegedly substandard.
Members of Kadamay earlier complained that the housing units were so “tiny that only the pet dogs of senators and congressmen could fit in them.”
Ridon said government funds were used to build the housing units but it was “meant to fail.”
“Tingin ko dapat ho may managot kasi sa loob ho ng mahabang panahon, zero ho ’yung tumira eh. ‘Di ho ba? Parang, I would say that it was a project that was meant to fail. Parang ganoon,” he said.
(I think people should be held accountable, because these houses were not inhabited for a long time. I would say that it was a project that was meant to fail. Something like that.)
He said parties should be held liable for the failed housing projects.
“Siyempre dapat ho. Kasi pondo ho ng bayan ho ‘yan eh, tapos eh (Of course. Because it’s the money of the people that was used to build those houses)… Basta whatever it is that, whatever accountability that can be exacted — civil, administrative, criminal it ought to be undertaken in respect to this project,” he said.
He said the housing project in Pandi, meant for soldiers and policemen, had been hounded with issues, adding that even the supposed occupants were not consulted about the project.
“Kasi (Because) obviously in terms of the project planning itself, parang may problema na ho (there already seems to be a problem). So, for example, in terms of site identification, in terms of the quality of the housing themselves, in terms of the actual absence of facilities and services,” he said.
Ridon, a former Kabataan Partylist representative, said Congress should hold more investigations on the Kadamay issue.
“So marami hong problema ‘yun eh. So tingin ko dapat meron pa hong mga dagdag na pagdinig ang Kongreso po patungkol dito para malaman din natin talaga sino ba talaga ‘yung meron hong pananagutan sa proyekto pong ito (It’s hounded by a lot of problems. So I think the Congress should conduct more hearings on this issue so we will find out which parties should be held accountable for this project),” he said. IDL/rga
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