THERE will be no substandard housing units and projects under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Thus, vowed Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario as he stressed the Duterte administration is determined to develop resilient and sustainable communities.
The DHSUD chief declared three housing guiding principles during the Key Shelter Agency (KSAs) heads’ meeting held at the DHSUD Central Office on Monday as he reiterated the need to further attain synergy among the KSAs towards a more vibrant housing sector.
“First, let us not lose sight of our general housing guiding principles by always considering shelter as a right of every Filipino family, homeownership as an option and it is the responsibility of housing officials to help and assist the poorest of the poor so that they will have the capability and opportunity to have decent and affordable houses,” the housing czar said.
“Second, we must always remember that we are building communities and not just mere houses,” added Del Rosario.
“And third, we will never build sub-standard houses and projects, and never in this administration that we will be accused of building substandard housing units or projects. These are the three things that we must do as an established norm to ensure that the next administration will also continue to observe these housing principles,” he stressed.
KSA heads, including Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti and National Housing Authority General Manager Jun Escalada and Human Settlements Adjudication Commission Executive Commissioner Melzar Galicia, were among the bigwigs present at the forum while Social Housing Finance Corporation President Atty. Arnolfo Cabling and National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) head Dr. Felixberto Bustos, on the other hand, participated via video conference.
At the forum, ways to better promote convergence among KSAs were tackled, with Secretary Del Rosario urging SHFC, the NHA, the NHMFC, HSAC and Pag-IBIG Fund to improve synchronization of efforts in addressing housing-related concerns.
Apart from the much-improved housing design standards being imposed by the department, provisions for basic utilities like power and water supplies in all government housing projects have been a primordial consideration by DHSUD.
Also, locations of resettlement areas are carefully studied to ensure safety from hazards and calamities like flooding and landslide.
The KSA heads meeting was the second this year. Pag-IBIG Fund will host the next meeting, which shall be done quarterly starting next year.
