To help address social housing needs of Filipinos

COMMITTED to meet the needs of numerous underprivileged and homeless Filipinos, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go filed a measure seeking to increase housing production by forging partnerships among relevant stakeholders to address the social housing demands of the Filipino families.

“Dapat po magkaroon ang bawat pamilyang Pilipino ng isang maayos at disenteng tirahan. Nais ko pong bigyan ng mas maginhawang buhay ang bawat Pilipino, lalung-lalo na po ang mga mahihirap,” Go vowed while emphasizing that “walang dapat maging squatter sa sariling bayan.”

Go’s Senate Bill No. 426 encourages public and private sector participation in the implementation of the government’s National Housing Development and Production Financing (NHDPF) Program.

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and its attached key shelter agencies, shall intensify the implementation of the vital components of the NHDPF program.

Meanwhile, the National Housing Authority shall be the sole national government agency tasked to implement and develop the housing programs intended for the bottom 30 percent of the income population.

The Social Housing Finance Corporation is also mandated to undertake social housing programs that will cater to the formal and informal sectors in the low-income bracket and to take charge of developing and administering social housing programs, particularly the Community Mortgage Program and its different modalities.

Finally, the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) is mandated to increase the availability of affordable housing loans to finance the Filipino homebuyers on their acquisition of housing units through the development and operation of a secondary market for home mortgages.

The authorized capital stock of the NHMFC shall be increased from PhP5.5 billion to PhP50 billion pesos to expand its leveraging capacity based on the volume of mortgage loans being serviced to improve its profitability by reducing the average cost of its fund made available for home lending programs.

The NHMFC shall also be exempt from all national, provincial, municipal and city taxes on income derived from its governmental functions, specifically income from its activities or transactions in the exercise of its mandates.

To fast track the approval and implementation of housing projects and reduce the cost of socialized and low-cost housing units, relevant agencies shall likewise facilitate the release of the required housing-related permits, licenses, certifications and tax exemptions or rulings in accordance with Republic Act 11032 or “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018”.

Go has also refiled Senate Bill 192 or his Rental Housing Subsidy Bill. Underscoring the importance of immediately acting upon the challenges faced by homeless Filipinos nationwide, he cited how the proposed measure can provide adequate, sustainable and habitable shelter for Filipinos affected by disasters and other crisis situations.

Under SB 192, a housing and social protection program will be developed that will provide disaster victims better and more affordable access to the formal housing market through the provision of rental subsidies provided by the government.

The senator was also the main proponent of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program (BP2) which is a long-term plan of the government to decongest urban areas, boost countryside development, and improve the quality of life in all regions.

“Ako naman po ay hinihikayat ko po ang bagong administrasyon na ipagpatuloy po ‘yung Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) program po based on Executive Order po ito ni dating Pangulong (Rodrigo) Duterte. Pagandahin pa natin lalo itong programang ito,” Go appealed earlier.

“Marami sa ating mahihirap ang nabigla nang dahil sa pandemya. Nawalan sila ng tirahan at trabaho. Kaya naman sa pamamagitan ng BP2, bibigyan po sila ng pagkakataon, ‘yung sino lang po gustong bumalik ng probinsya. And of course, ma-decongest po natin ang Maynila,” he added.