Urban poor groups back DOJ on housing compliance

The Urban Poor Action Committee (UPAC), representing 205,000 urban poor families, expressed support for a Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion regarding balanced housing compliance. The group stated the move supports the push for increased socialized housing.

In a letter to Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling, UPAC backed DOJ Opinion No. 4 Series of 2026. The opinion flagged legal infirmities in a 2021 DHSUD order governing incentivized balanced housing compliance.

The letter was signed by UPAC Executive Director Alicia Murphy, KOSMAT President Jeorgie Tonelete, Community Organizers Multiversity Executive Director Lucila Malibiran, and ULAP Confederation President Madeline Suarez.

UPAC stated the DOJ opinion reinforces the intent of Republic Act (RA) 7279, as amended by RA 10884, which ensures resources for socialized housing programs intended for underprivileged and homeless families.

The group emphasized that maintaining the socialized housing allocation provided under the law would lead to the construction of more housing units and the implementation of the enhanced community mortgage program (ECMP) for marginalized sectors.

"We fully support upholding the allocated 15 percent or 5 percent of the total project cost, as we believe that this will result in the delivery of more socialized housing units," UPAC stated in the letter.

The DOJ opinion, dated 03 February 2026, cited legal infirmities in DHSUD's Department Order (DO) No. 2021-004. It specifically noted provisions that effectively reduced the required percentage of developers' participation in the Balanced Housing Development Program (BHDP).

According to UPAC, restoring the full compliance allocation would help address long-standing housing challenges.

"The marginalized sector, particularly the urban poor community, has long suffered from insecurity due to the stagnant allocation of funds for project development," said UPAC.