THE FPJ Panday Bayanihan partylist, led by Brian Poe Llamanzares, emphasizes the urgent need for affordable housing, steady livelihoods, and services for informal settler families (ISFs).
They support initiatives like the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), aimed at providing affordable housing loans so families can achieve ownership over time. The challenge is stark, with approximately 3.7 million ISFs, about half a million of whom live in precarious conditions in Metro Manila’s slums.
While the CMP assists in acquiring homes, high development costs remain prohibitive for low-income families.
Access to essential services like healthcare, education, and safety also poses significant concerns for relocated families.
The FPJ Panday Bayanihan partylist advocates for livelihood programs managed by urban poor organizations.
Such initiatives aim to secure employment opportunities within relocation areas, countering tendencies for relocatees to return to previous homes due to job scarcity or long distances.
Collaboration between local governments and community organizations is crucial. By working with both origin and destination communities, income opportunities can be increased, ensuring economic growth at relocation sites.
The partylist stresses that relocation sites must meet the standards ensuring families can live peacefully and participate actively in the design and implementation of any housing program, ensuring their needs and preferences are taken into account.
Holistic community development, integrating housing, employment, and basic services, is the envisioned path forward to not only stabilize the lives of relocatees but elevate their communities’ economic standing.
This comprehensive strategy seeks to break the cycle of poverty while enhancing quality of life.
