This measure will not just benefit poor and homeless Filipinos all over the country, but also victims of fires and natural calamities, such as typhoons and earthquakes.

To us Filipinos, a house is not just a building, it is a home where we recuperate and spend time with our loved ones after a hard day’s work. It is a place that shelters, protects and nurtures us to become productive citizens of the country. Therefore, it is imperative to nation-building that each and every Filipino has a place they call home.

Unfortunately, despite the progress we have made in recent years, the problem of homelessness remains a serious social issue in the Philippines. In fact, as a senator, I do not need to go far from the Senate Building in Pasay City to see the problem for myself. Just outside the premises of the Senate, one could easily see our fellow Filipinos living and sleeping in the streets, without a roof over their heads. It is a sight that breaks hearts and crushes souls.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, there are about 4.5 million homeless people in our country, three million of which are in Metro Manila. This number is possibly the most in any city in the world as estimated by some organizations. In a presentation by the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association Inc., it is estimated that over three million housing units need to be built from 2012 to 2030 just to provide the needs of our homeless citizens. I believe that the actual number is larger.

It is for this reason that I have vowed and undertaken concrete measures to fight homelessness in our country. In July, I have filed Senate Bill (SB) 203, or the National Housing Development, Production and Financing Act of 2019, which seeks to provide low-cost, accessible and affordable housing as part of the efforts to reduce homelessness in the country.

The proposed measure institutionalizes a program to address the housing needs of Filipinos by generating and mobilizing sustainable funds for housing, and encouraging public and private sector participation in the said program. It also seeks to provide continuous funding support to implement the major components of the National Housing Development, Production and Financing Program (NHDPFP) of the Duterte administration.

Under SB 203, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and its attached key shelter agencies are mandated to intensify the implementation of the NHDPFP.

Meanwhile, the National Housing Authority will be the lead agency tasked to develop and implement various types of housing programs intended for the bottom 30 percent of the income population. Some of these programs are resettlements, housing programs for low-salaried government employees, settlements upgrading, housing programs of calamity victims, and land banking.

As for the housing plight of formal and informal sectors in the low-income bracket, the draft legislation mandates the Social Housing Finance Corporation to undertake social housing programs that will cater to their needs and to take charge of developing and administering social housing programs.

The proposed law also tasks the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation to increase the availability of affordable housing loans to finance the Filipino homebuyers, and the DHSUD to manage housing, human settlements and urban development.

To encourage private sector participation in the program, pertinent government agencies are mandated to facilitate the release of the required housing-related permits, licenses, certifications and tax exemptions and rulings in accordance to the Ease of Doing Business Act.

This measure will not just benefit poor and homeless Filipinos all over the country, but also victims of fires and natural calamities, such as typhoons and earthquakes, who I occasionally visit during my free time after my work at the Senate.

As a humanitarian country, affordable housing for Filipinos is something that we in the government must guarantee. After all, the funds spent in building these structures are theirs. We are simply giving the taxpayers’ money back to where they are due in the form of quality welfare services from us.

And while a comprehensive socialized housing program will definitely aid in resolving our short and long-term housing needs, I truly believe that a more lasting way to address the problem of homelessness, and many other social ills for that matter, is to even out economic development across our 7,641 islands and encourage the growth of the economy in all our regions. It is only through this way can we truly fight and put an end to poverty, inequality, and homelessness in the Philippines.