The poorest who need housing the most are left out in the 4PH Program

Photo by Rappler

 

Urban poor groups, on the eve of President Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA), criticized the administration’s social housing program for its being “overly dependent” on private developers and “downright discriminatory” against the poorest of the poor.

 

Declared as the administration’s flagship program, the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) aims to produce one million “affordable” housing each year to address the cumulative housing backlog of some 6.8 million.

 

But leaders of urban poor organizations in a joint statement declared: “The program is neither affordable nor equitable for the poorest among the homeless Filipinos. Pagkatapos ng anim na taon, maaring nagkabahay ang mga naka-aangat pero ang mahihirap ay hindi,” stated the groups.

 

The urban poor network explained that under this private-led housing development program, only the lower to middle-income families can avail of the ₱1.1 - ₱1.5 million housing loan from Pag-ibig as the poorest of poor, estimated to be 1.7 million of the 6 million beneficiaries, cannot afford a monthly amortization of at least ₱4,000.

 

Housing loans under 4PH is significantly higher than the current loanable amount of up to ₱750,000 for socialized housing under Pag-ibig, with a monthly amortization of ₱2,445/month available for minimum wage earners and low-income families.

 

But informal settler families (ISFs) live under vulnerable conditions of unemployment and underemployment as most of them work in the informal economy with irregular income, the groups said.

 

The ₱4,000 estimated monthly amortization the groups said was based on the 1% interest rate which is the only cost that will be assumed by the government. Pag-ibig imposes a 3% interest rate for socialized housing loans but under the 4PH, only 1% shall be paid by the applicant. The rest of the costs in building the units will be assumed by private developers but which shall also be charged to household beneficiaries through Pag-ibig.

 

But because the proposed housing design is high rise, the urban poor leaders said additional costs for the maintenance and operations of said buildings like elevators and other amenities shall be borne collectively and may incur additional monthly dues of ₱2,000 per household. This would mean a family’s total monthly expenditure for housing at ₱6,000.

 

“Records would show, however, that even for existing NHA projects, only 22% of informal settlers are able to meet the monthly amortization of ₱300. ₱6,000 is twenty times higher than the current NHA cost, making the 4PH an impossible dream house for the poorest of the poor. Hindi pa nagsisimula ang proyekto ay disqualified na ang mahihirap,” said the group.

 

Alternatives

 

Citing a dire need to address the burgeoning housing crisis, the urban poor leaders said they are willing to work with the government with an alternative mechanism that they would like to propose.

 

These include a major proposal for the government to make land acquisition and site development for socialized housing a grant to drive down the cost further and make the program more affordable for the poorest of the poor.

 

The groups also want the framework of “People’s Plan” adopted by the government through the enactment of the People’s Plan bill filed in Congress to ensure that ISFs are not merely treated as “market” in the socialized housing industry but as major partner and participants for realizing the social objective of eliminating homelessness in the country.

 

It is in the People’s Plan, they said, that a flexible housing program can be formulated democratically which may include, among others, lower cost and mixed-use development of the housing estates.

 

Lastly, the groups are also opposed to extending the NHA Charter because of the agency’s failure to solve the housing problem for decades and the recent creation of DHSUD. As an alternative, they propose that the housing projects under the NHA be distributed free for the beneficiaries in the same way lands were condoned for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the rural areas.

 

“Kung ang ARBs sa kanayunan ay nabigyan ng Pangulo ng condonation at emancipation sa kanilang mga utang, maari din itong gawin para sa mga ISFs ng kalunsuran,” the group concluded.

23 July 2023

Urban Poor Leaders Network

For more info you may contact:

 Ver Estorosas

Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino

09423690337

 

Rodel Rubias

HOA Resettlement Alliance

0928 729 6269

 

Jonathan Chua

Laban ng Maralitang Sektor

09610230159

 

Nestor Yaranon

Kilos Maralita

09239770681

 

Vicente Barlos

President

Alliance Peoples Organization in  Lupang Arenda (APOLA)

09437091266

 

Jonjon Elago

President, ULAP-Confed

09218202998

Maralita ng Bulacan, bumalik sa NHA upang igiit ang aksyon sa kanilang housing applications

Sumugod sa opisina ng National Housing Authority (NHA) sa Bulacan ang humigit-kumulang 500 informal settlers para igiit ang aksyon sa matagal na nilang nakabinbing mga aplikasyon para sa pabahay. Ito ang ikalawang beses na nagrali sa opisina ng NHA sa bayan ng Balagtas ang mga maralitang kasapi ng Partido Manggagawa (PM) at Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino (AMP).

Sa dialogue na naganap nitong nakaraang Abril 17 habang nagaganap ang rali ng mga members ng AMP at PM, sinabi ng kinawatan ng NHA na denied ang mga application. Hindi nakumbinsi ang grupo ng mga maralita sa anila’y malabong paliwanag kaya’t humingi si Ver Estorosas, lider ng PM sa Bulacan, konkretong paliwanag sa bawat isang aplikasyon na isinampa. Nagkasundo ang  magkabilang panig sa muling magharap ngayon araw.

Banggit ni Estorosas, “Dumaan sa tamang proseso ang mga residente ng Bulacan na nasa mga danger zone at may mga banta ng demolisyon para makakuha ng slot sa programang pabahay ng NHA sa Bulacan.”

Kahapon ay tumungo sina Estorosas sa opisina ng Gobernador ng Bulacan at sa NHA National upang humingi ng tulong. Noong Marso 23 ay nagpadala na ng sulat ang NHA National sa NHA Bulacan para i-utos ang immediate action sa request ng grupo ni Esterosas.

Dagdag pa ni Estorosas, “Abril 7, 2015 pa nagpadala ng endorsement letter sa NHA-Central Luzon ang tanggapan ni Bulacan Gob. Wilhelmino Alvarado para sa 100 pamilya na inilapit ng PM sa provincial government para sa programang pabahay.  Nasundan ito ng panibagong endorsement letter ng Gobernador para sa panibanong aplikante na 325. Natanggap ang nasabing mga liham ni Efren Dinglasan ng NHA pero nagsabi ito na unahin muna ang aplikasyon ng unang 100.”

“Dahil dito, noong July 15, 2015, nagkaroon ng dayalogo sa kapitolyo na dinaluhan mismo ni Gob. Alvarado, at mga kinatawan ng NHA, PM at mga lider ng maralita at dito ay nagkasundo na bigyan ng housing units ang mga nakatira sa danger zones ng Bulacan at agad na mailipat ang unang 100. Sa katunayan ay binigyan na sila ng application forms ng NHA para masimulan na ang proseso,” ani Estorosas.

Aniya nasundan pa ito ng ilang pag-uusap hanggang sa inabutan na ito ng eleksyon at pag-upo ng bagong administrasyon.

Iginigiit ng PM at AMP ang agarang pag-aruba sa mga aplikasyon dahil bukod sa dumaan ito sa tamang proseso, available at nabubulok na ang mga nakatiwangwang na pabahay sa Bulacan, katulad ng binabanggit ng grupong Kadamay na nagsagawa ng kampanyang okupasyon noong nakaraang buwan.

“Dapat na ring buksan ang iba pang proyektong pabahay ng NHA sa lalawigan para sa mga lehitimong aplikante kaysa mag-antay na mabulok na lamang ang mga ito ng tuluyan na hindi nalilipatan ng mga totoong benepisyaryo kung meron man,” giit ni Estorosas.

25 April 2017

Mga lehitimong applikante ng NHA housing sa Bulacan, nagrali para aprubahan ang kanilang aplikasyon na nakabinbin mula pa noong 2015

Mahigit 500 lehitimong aplikante ng programang pabahay ng National Housing Authority (NHA) sa Bulacan ang nagrali ngayon sa tanggapan ng NHA sa Balagtas, Bulacan upang hilingin na aprubahan na ang kanilang aplikasyon na nakabinbin sa ahensya mula pa noong Abril 2015.

Ayon kay Ver Estorosas, tagapagsalita ng Partido Manggagawa (PM) sa Bulacan, dumaan sa tamang proseso ang mga residente ng Bulacan na nasa mga danger zone at may mga banta ng demolisyon para makakuha ng slot sa programang pabahay ng NHA sa Bulacan pero hanggang ngayon, ang naturang aplikasyon ay hindi pa naaksyuan.

Abril 7, 2015 pa umano nagpadala ng endorsement letter sa NHA-Central Luzon ang tanggapan ni Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado para sa 100 pamilya na inilapit ng PM sa provincial government para sa programang pabahay.  Nasundan ito ng panibagong endorsement letter ng Gobernador para sa panibagong aplikante na 325. Natanggap ang nasabing mga liham ni Efren Dinglasan ng NHA pero nagsabi ito na unahin muna ang aplikasyon ng unang 100.

Noong July 15, 2015, nagkaroon ng dayalogo sa tanggapan ng Gobernador na dinaluhan mismo ng gobernador, at mga kinatawan ng NHA, PM at mga lider ng maralita at dito ay nagkasundo na bigyan ng slots o yunit ang mga nakatira sa danger zones ng Bulacan at agad na mailipat ang unang 100. Sa katunayan ay binigyan na sila ng application forms ng NHA para masimulan na ang proseso.

Ayon kay Estorosas, nasundan pa ito ng ilang pag-uusap hanggang sa inabutan na ito ng eleksyon at pag-upo ng bagong administrasyon.

Hinihiling ngayon g grupo na aprubahan na ang naturang mga aplikasyon dahil bukod sa dumaan ito sa tamang proseso, available at nabubulok na nga ahalos ng mga nakatiwangwang na pabahay sa Bulacan, katulad ng binabanggit ng grupong Kadamay na nagsagawa ng kampanyang okupasyon noong nakaraang buwan.

Dagdag pa ng PM-Bulacan, dapat na ring buksan ang iba pang proyektong pabahay ng NHA sa lalawigan para sa mga lehitimong aplikante kaysa mag-antay na mabulok na lamang ang mga ito ng tuluyan na hindi nalilipatan ng mga totoong benepisyaryo kung meron man.

Nagdududa ang grupo na kaya nakatiwangwang ang libu-libong pabahay ng NHA sa Bulacan ay dahil ayaw itong lipatan ng mga nakatalagang benepisyaryo mula sa Kamaynilaan, walang serbisyo ng tubig at kuryente, at ang malala ay baka umano ginagawang negosyo ng mga opisyal ng ahensya.

Umaasa ang grupo na ang kampanyang isinagawa ng Kadamay ay magbukas ng daan upang ang mga bakanteng pabahay ng NHA sa lalawigan ay mapakinabangan ng mas marami, lalo na ang mga lehitimong aplikante na matagal nang naghihintay na ang kanilang mga aplikasyon ay maaksyunan. Kailangan din umanong repormahin ang sistemang ito para matiyak na ang programang pabahay ay may kasabay na esensyal na serbisyo tulad ng tubig at kuryente.

Nagpahayag din ang grupo na dadalhin din nila ang kanilang hinaing sa Malacanang sakaling hindi aksyunan ng NHA sa Bulacan ang kanilang kahilingan.

17 April 2017

Urban poor protest Cavite mayor’s intrusion into mass housing project

Informal settlers protest at GMA, Cavite municipal hall

Urban poor protest Cavite mayor’s intrusion into mass housing project

More than a hundred informal settlers in the town of General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), Cavite protested yesterday the interference of the mayor in a mass housing project being implemented by the National Housing Authority (NHA). The GMA residents held a march from their community in Quarry Hills in Barangay Dacin to the NHA office and finally at the municipal hall.

“We demand that Mayor Walter Echevarria cease and desist from obstructing the smooth completion of the housing project handled by the NHA that will benefit some 300 families in Quarry Hills. We call on the Mayor to allow the ongoing validation and verification of actual occupancy that is part of the NHA’s process for socialized housing,” asserted Jun Labrador, leader of the GMA informal settlers.

The day before, the mayor had ordered a stop to the validation and verification being done by NHA personnel at the Quarry Hills community. “We even heard from reliable sources that Mayor Echevarria  verbally abused the NHA project manager in his fit of anger,” Labrador insisted.

The protesters at the GMA municipal hall called on Mayor Echevarria for a dialogue but instead it was his daughter, Councilor Maricel E. Torres , who is running in the coming election as the vice mayor of his re-electionist father, who came down to meet the Quarry Hills informal settlers.

“We agreed to Councilor Torres’ proposal for a meeting of all the interested parties at the Quarry Hills site even as we insisted that such a meeting should not stop nor delay the ongoing validation and verification phase of the housing project,” Labrador argued.

Ramil Cangayo, chair of the Cavite chapter of the party-list group Partido Manggagawa (PM), which is assisting the Quarry Hills residents in their fight for housing rights, averred that “The LGU should not interfere in the project implementation since it is entirely the mandate of the NHA. For the LGU to interfere is to overstep its bounds and is tantamount to abuse of authority.’

He explained that the Quarry Hills informal settlers had already struggled too long to secure their tenure rights to the 3.7 hectare public land. “As early as 2002, the NHA had issued memorandum circular 1754 awarding the land to the informal settlers on Quarry Hills. In 2006, the LGU had already approved the subdivision plan for the onsite housing project. Justice delayed is justice denied. Kung totoo ang tuwid na daan, matagal na sanang nakamit ang katiyakan sa paninirahan ng mga taga-Quarry Hills,” Cangayao stated.

PM vowed to support the Quarry Hills residents in the ongoing dispute and their fight to secure affordable housing. “The protest yesterday is not the first nor the last. Tuloy ang laban hanggang maipanalo ang katiyakan sa paninirahan. Accessible housing for the poor is a key part of PM’s demand for sufficient social services. Along with our call for cheap prices of goods and utilities, decent wages and job security, these constitute PM’s Apat na Dapat platform for workers and the poor,” Cangayao clarified.

October 30, 2015

Partido Manggagawa

National moratorium on demolitions needed to avoid repeat of Davao incident –labor group

PRESS RELEASE

02 July 2011

The unfortunate, violent face-off between the furious Inday (Mayor Sara Duterte) and the hapless Sheriff (Abe Andres) could have been avoided if there had been a declared national moratorium on demolitions, the labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement.

According to PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda, violent confrontations between the informal settlers and the demolition team are normal occurrence whenever an eviction or demolition order is enforced either by the court or by the government itself.  And in many instances, a hapless sheriff who has no personal discretion at all to either withhold or press on with the order coming from his/her bosses, ends up getting the ire of angry residents, or in this recent case in Davao – a brutal hit from the mayor’s furious fist.

“As a party of ordinary labourers, we cannot help but sympathize with Sheriff Abe Andres for the humiliating experience he suffered from the hands of Mayor Inday.  Yet we also recognize the firm resolve of Mayor Duterte in addressing the problem of her constituents in an appropriate manner and to prevent the expected outbreak of violence,” explained Miranda.   

In fact, added Miranda, “Minus the disposition for brutality, all LGU officials should have the kind of social instinct that Mayor Sara Duterte has.” 

The labor group together with other groups under the Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay (KAMP) had been urging the Palace since last year to declare a moratorium on demolitions, evictions and foreclosures on informal settlers while a new comprehensive housing policy is not yet in place.

“If the Masang Pinoy is really his boss, PNoy should likewise have the political will of Mayor Sara.  The President in fact neither needs a fist nor a gun to stop violent demolitions but just a pen for an Executive Order declaring a moratorium,” concludes Miranda.

PM recalled that just recently also, exchange of words occurred between Makati Mayor and Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary (DILG) Jessie Robredo when violent confrontations flared up during the demolition of the Laperal compound in Guadalupe.

Several other demolition operations also ended up in violence and resulted eventually to the massive displacement for the cities’ informal settlers.

Militant urban poor group opposes forced relocation

Press Release
October 5, 2009
Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino


The urtban poor group Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino opposes the governments’ forcible relocation that will affect thousand of families living in major water ways and Laguna Lake.

“The governments’ plan of forcible relocation will be a man made disaster that comes on top of the natural catastrophe brought about by tropical storm Ondoy. We hold on our basic right to decent shelter, thus we are calling on the government to create an inter-agency committee with representation from the affected families to ensure decent relocation as declared in the Urban Development and Housing Act,” Romy Cabugnason, AMP, Chairman, stated.

The government proposes to relocate families in Calauan, Laguna and San Miguel, Bulacan. Calauan, Laguna is also a resettlement area to families from PNR, and was already reported for lack of basic services such as water, power, health, education and means of livelihood.

Cabugnason added that, “We were never anti-development as this elite government wish to project, only that we know that we have the right for a decent shelter instead of forcible relocation in some area without employment and/or basic services. Decent shelter is a basic policy of the government that Secretary of Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr., should have known as he aspires to be head the state.”

“The Filipino unity is inspiring we know that we are not facing the tragedy of tropical storm Ondoy alone. But then, since we are from the danger zone the government should not put us in harm by putting us in the death zone,” Cabugnason ended.