Urban poor groups have welcomed a directive from the Commission on Audit (CoA) to recompute developers’ compliance incentives under the Balanced Housing Development Program (BHDP), calling it a major boost to pro-poor housing and urging its swift implementation.

In a joint letter to Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling, the Urban Poor Action Committee (UPAC) said the move strengthens accountability and improves access to housing support for vulnerable communities.

“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,” UPAC said.

The group added that it fully supports the directive, expressing confidence that it would lead to a more efficient, transparent, and tangible delivery of socialized housing units.

Signatories to the letter included Urban Poor Associates executive director Alicia Murphy, Community Organizers Multiversity executive director Lucila Malibiran, KOSMAT President Jorgie Tonelete, and ULAP Confederation president Madeline Suarez.

Priority on marginalized

UPAC said it expects DHSUD to act promptly on the directive. “We look forward to the Department’s proactive response and remain confident this will lead to meaningful progress in delivering housing services to vulnerable communities,” it added.

The groups noted that under Department Order No. 2021-004, the computation effectively reduced the required participation of developers, lowering their contributions to just five percent of the total project cost. This, they said, diminished the funding for the BHDP and made it harder for urban poor communities to access resources for housing initiatives such as People’s Plans.

The CoA earlier flagged DHSUD’s computation of incentivized balanced housing compliance, citing inconsistencies with Republic Act 7279, as amended by Republic Act 10884, particularly provisions that reduced developers’ obligations.

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

Aliling said DHSUD has coordinated with CoA to clarify the directive and ensure its proper implementation, adding that developers would be given sufficient time to comply.