Leni urged to push for affordable housing, stand vs demolitions

A militant group urged Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo to prioritize providing affordable public housing for the poor and stand against demolitions following her appointment as housing czar of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) on Friday said Robredo should veer away from the “profit-oriented schemes made more popular during the Aquino administration,” expressing caution that the Vice President “may follow suit on the criminal implementation of demolitions promoted by Liberal Party stalwarts.”

READ: Duterte appoints Robredo as HUDCC chief

“If we are truly to see change coming to the country, then housing as a service should be prioritized over the involvement of private developers in so called socialized housing. We lauded the late Jesse Robredo for his recognition of our rights to the city, for the city to be geared towards fulfilling the needs of all its inhabitants,” Kadamay chair Gloria “Ka Bea” Arellano said in a statement.

Robredo on Thursday accepted Duterte’s offer to head the government’s housing arm, which was announced by Malacañang on the same day through a televised briefing.

Robredo thanked Duterte for the appointment, saying it would allow her to serve the marginalized sector as she promised when she formally took oath.

READ: Robredo thanks Duterte for HUDCC post

Arellano also urged the Vice President to emulate her late husband, former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, who “staunchly advocated for affordable public housing as a response to basic human rights of urban poor Filipinos.”

Arellano said the Balanced Housing Development Program Amendments Acts proposed by the previous administration’s allies in Congress “added more problems to an already unjust process of profiteering from socialized housing.”

“The LP is not the only influential player in the housing industry and we urge Robredo to be true to the memory of her husband and reject all policies harmful to the poor. Namely these are public-private partnership endeavors mixed into housing. Instead, housing as a quality service that is readily available and provided to the poorest sections should be the goal,” she added.