MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / INQUIRER File photo
MANILA, Philippines — A Senate committee has approved proposals to aid informal settler families (ISFs) whose relocation was delayed due to calamities by granting them monthly housing subsidies.
The Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing, and Resettlement, chaired by Senator Francis Tolentino, approved in a hearing Wednesday Senate Bill Nos. 1843, 1767, 1227 filed by Senators Leila de Lima, Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr., and Christopher “Bong” Go respectively.
“Ito pong rental subsidy ay hindi lamang patungkol ngayon sa COVID pandemic kung hindi maging pagkatapos po nang pandemya, dahil yung problema natin sa pabahay ay hindi lamang po sa Metro Manila kung hindi maging sa mga ilang urban areas ng Pilipinas ay patuloy po” Tolentino said in a statement Thursday.
(This will not only be for the pandemic but beyond it, because housing problems persist in Metro Manila and other urban areas in the Philippines.)
The Senate bills the committee approved seek to provide a monthly housing subsidy to ISFs scheduled for relocation but was delayed because of calamities.
The proposed monthly assistance will take effect until an ISF can transfer to a formal housing settlement or after a period of 5 years, whichever comes first, according to the measures.
Tolentino said that rental subsidies should go beyond the pandemic since paying rent and other monthly fees is a constant problem when it comes to housing.
The senator underscored that institutionalizing the rental subsidy program will support short-term housing relief efforts and affordable housing programs for low-income families.
At present, the National Housing Authority (NHA) provides a one-time rental subsidy for qualified ISFs living in Metro Manila who are set to be transferred to a government housing project in the provinces of Rizal, Batangas, Bataan, and Laguna.
Ramon Paul Falcon, a social development staff of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the agency supports the passage of the rent subsidy measure, which is also consistent with the Philippine Development Plan.
The NHA, for its part, backed the provision of Senate Bill Nos. 1227 and 1767 that set the maximum subsidy to five years and recommended that rental assistance can be inserted under the project costing.
The committee will form a technical working group to consolidate the measures approved by the panel.