MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives committee on housing and urban development on Wednesday approved a resolution declaring a housing crisis in the Philippines.
In a unanimous vote, the panel approved House Substitute Resolution No. 1458, stating a need to declare a housing crisis as there is a need to construct 6,796,920 housing units by 2022.
According to the resolution, the national government and the private sector constructed only 777,879 housing units from July 2016 to June 2020.
Citing data from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), there are 1,898,993 informal settler families in the country, with 478,899 informal settler families in the National Capital Region.
The resolution also cited the need to address the housing problem “because of the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters and the adverse impact of climate change threaten to displace families living in danger zones.”
“It is incumbent upon Congress to determine the efficient mobilization of government resources in the implementation of housing laws which will contribute to our economic recovery, growth and resilience, and will translate to the benefit of present and future generations,” the resolution stated.