Senate body to push through with probe on gov’t housing projects

Kadamay members have occupied 5,918 units in idle housing projects and plans to expand the movement. (Photo courtesy of KADAMAY)

Despite the President’s decision to just give the government housing units in Bulacan to the urban poor group Kadamay, the Senate will still push through with its probe to find out who were responsible for the “neglect” of the said projects, Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said on Wednesday.

Ejercito, who chairs the Senate committee on the urban planning, housing, and resettlement, has set the probe on April 18.

“Regardless of the President’s decision, the Senate probe on Kadamay’s occupation will still push through on April 18,” he said in a statement.

“On these particular projects in Bulacan, we want to know those accountable for the neglect of the housing projects and where the funds were funneled,” the senator added.

The inquiry, he said, will also tackle issues as to why a number of housing projects by the National Housing Authority (NHA) remain “substandard in quality, unoccupied, and fragmented.”

On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he would just give away to members of Kadamay the housing units they occupied as he promised the police and the military a better housing project by December.

READ: Duterte vows to give housing units in Bulacan to Kadamay

While he appreciates the President’s “heart for the poor and homeless,” Ejercito opposed holding any government projects hostage just to justify anyone’s need for shelter.

“Resolving housing woes should not be as complicated as this,” he said.

“While I appreciate President Duterte’s heart for the poor and homeless, as chair of the Urban Planning, Housing, and Resettlement Committee, this should not be the means for anyone to become a recipient of housing projects.”

“I am against any form of a government project being held hostage in order to justify anyone’s need for shelter, unless in times of calamity. We have to do things right,” added Ejercito, who initiated the probe on the issue.

READ: Where is P50-B shelter fund, Kadamay asks NHA

And despite the President’s decision, the senator believes that the recipients should still go through the proper process in the turn-over and awarding of the projects.

“We want them to comply with the process so that their occupation would not become a precedent for other groups demanding housing from the government,” he said.

Ejercito said Kadamay’s occupation of the housing projects should serve as a wake-up call for the government to address the massive housing problem in the country.

“By now I believe we are convinced that government housing projects are no longer about structures, but should also cover a comprehensive and strategic plan in addressing other basic needs of beneficiaries such as access to livelihood, transportation, education, and health facilities,” he said.

To effectively map this out and to address the housing backlog, the senator urged the creation of a Department on Human Settlements and Urban Development and the passage of the In-City Relocation Bill.

He said two bills are among the priority of his committee this year. IDL