[ Manila Bulletin Online ] May 6, 2008
By DAVID CAGAHASTIAN
The government is on track in building one million homes within five years, it was announced yesterday by Rep. Rodolfo G. Valencia, of the first district of Oriental Mindoro, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Committee of the House of Representatives.
Valencia said the production phase of One Million Homes Program, a joint private and public project, officially began in January, 2008 with the construction of houses all over the country to solve the huge housing backlog and uplift the lives of Filipino families.
The backlog is currently estimated at 1.2 million units and the demand at 2.5 million. By 2010, demand would reach 3.7 million, according to analysts. Based on this projection, the country requires the construction and delivery of 626,012 housing units a year from 2005-2010.
As of February, 2008, realtors and builders from 13 regions nationwide reported a total sales production of about 12,000 units from social, low-cost, medium- cost and open-market developments.
The program’s implementation is boosted by recent positive developments including the approval of a bill by the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development. The bill, which consolidates four proposed measures to create a full-scale housing agenda, seeks to source funds for the five-year plan and ensure its success.
To provide seed capital, Congressman Valencia reports that R10 billion will be sourced from the Office of the President through the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). As initial funding, the Lower House has earmarked R600 million in its General Appropriations. Meanwhile, congressmen who want low-cost housing developments in their own districts will have to allocate at least R5 million from their pork barrel as equity.
According to Valencia, a thriving housing sector will provide significant employment opportunities and set off a positive domino effect in allied industries such as construction, architecture, cement, steel, wood, paint and furniture, among others. With housing’s multiplier effect of 16.61 times, this scenario will definitely enrich the economy and launch the nation into a level of sustained development.
To facilitate its implementation, the Committee has formed a Task Force for the One Million Homes Program, composed of representatives from housing agencies and organizations and conducts meetings and dialogues with various labor sectors, NGOs, umbrella associations of government employees and other concerned groups.
Vice President Noli de Castro, chairman of HUDCC, reiterates that the program is aligned with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s five-year national housing development program which aims to benefit homeless Filipinos including families with members working overseas.
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