House panel okays bill on on-site relocation of informal settlers

Informal settlers in Metro Manila (Saiko3p / Shutterstock)

MANILA – A measure authorizing the on-site relocation of thousands of informal settlers across the country hurdled the committee level at the House of Representatives.

The House committee on housing and urban development approved on Wednesday a substitute bill establishing a local government resettlement program that implements an on-site, in-city, near-city, or off-city resettlement strategy for informal settler families under a people’s plan.

The bill also mandates the implementing local government units (LGUs), jointly with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), to provide other basic services and livelihood components in favor of the recipient LGU.

One of the authors of the measure, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, cited the need for on-site, in-city, or near-city resettlement that upholds the urban poor’s right to the city, to comply with the Constitution’s mandate to give Filipinos affordable and decent housing.

He said the Constitution mandates the state to “undertake, in cooperation with the private sector, a continuing program of urban land reform and housing, which will make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas.”

Citing a study by the University of Asia and the Pacific, Rodriguez said the country is projected to have a housing need of 12.3 million by 2030.

The same study found out that private developers were building homes mostly for the rich and the middle class, while the government was taking care of the housing needs of the poor.

“The housing and resettlement policy is primarily off-site relocation. The government builds houses for informal settler families in areas outside Metro Manila or in rural areas in Cagayan de Oro, where there is lack of employment, sustainable livelihood, and social services,” he said in a statement.

Rodriguez noted that many of those who had agreed to be relocated often returned to Metro Manila and other urban centers for jobs, hospitalization, and other services.

Under the measure, informal settler families and LGUs would be extensively involved in the formulation of a resettlement plan for homeless citizens.