An agricultural non-government organization has backed the Commission on Audit (COA) in its call to recompute developers’ compliance incentives under the Balanced Housing Development Program (BHDP), urging the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to act promptly.

The Community Organizers Multiversity (CO Multiversity) said the audit findings would help ensure accountability and expand access to housing for vulnerable sectors.

In a letter to DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling, signed by executive director Lucila Malibiran, the group cited COA’s findings flagging the department over the miscalculation of developers’ contributions to the BHDP.

The organization pointed to provisions under Department Order No. 2021-004, which it said reduced the required participation for non-saleable and non-recoverable portions of projects to five percent of the total project cost of a subdivision or condominium development.

According to CO Multiversity, the order “has decreased the funding for the BHDP, making it more difficult for urban poor groups and communities to access the resources and financial support needed for housing projects, such as people's plans and similar initiatives.”

COA earlier flagged the DHSUD’s computation of incentivized balanced housing compliance, noting inconsistencies between Department Order No. 2021-004 and Republic Act No. 7279, as amended by Republic Act No. 10884.

Under the law, developers of subdivision and condominium projects are required to allocate a portion of their project area or cost for socialized housing.

COA has called for the recomputation of all incentivized compliance with the BHDP as far back as 2018 to address deficiencies and ensure proper collection of underpayments.

“The COA's call to recompute all incentivized compliance with the BHDP dating back to 2018 marks a significant step toward ensuring accountability and adherence to the law. This measure will expand opportunities for vulnerable groups, who have long had limited access to affordable housing,” CO Multiversity said.

“The urban poor sector expresses its full support for and affirmation of the COA's directive to undertake this recomputation. We believe that this action will contribute to a more efficient, transparent, and tangible delivery of socialized housing units. We look forward to the Department's prompt and proactive response to this matter, and we remain confident that this will lead to meaningful progress in delivering housing services to vulnerable communities,” it added.

The DHSUD said it has already coordinated with COA and sought clarification on the matter to ensure proper implementation of the directive.

Aliling earlier assured that concerned developers would be given ample time to comply with the COA order.