Unoccupied housing units
DESPITE the mushrooming number of homeless Filipinos, including informal settlers in urban centers, many government low-cost housing units remain unoccupied.
And Sen. Francis “Tol” N. Tolentino stressed that allowing these dwelling units to remain unused “deviates” from their original purpose of benefitting the homeless.
That’s why we commend Senator Tolentino for calling on the National Housing Authority (NHA) to re-allocate unoccupied housing units to qualified beneficiaries.
He aired the call during a hearing conducted by his Senate committee on urban planning, housing and resettlement, which was attended by NHA chief Marcelino P. Escalada Jr.
Escalada welcomed Senator Tolentino’s proposal, adding that NHA authorities are drafting policy guidelines for the re-awarding of unoccupied low-cost housing units.
At the same time, the NHA general manager revealed that a number of those who availed themselves of the grovernment low-cost housing program did so as an investment.
Escalada said that some of the beneficiaries even rented out their dwelling units for significantly more than the monthly amortization they are paying to the government.
Like other well-meaning Filipinos, we share the view of the soft-spoken senator that the government’s low-cost housing programs must benefit the homeless, notably the poor.
We cannot overemphasize the importance of the government, through concerned offices and agencies, meeting the housing needs of the burgeoning Philippine population
Let’s carry out a highly-effective housing program for the benefit of the millions of homeless Filipinos.
