JV pushes faster socialized housing

Senate Senior Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito on Tuesday backed a measure that seeks to make it easier for the government to identify and utilize suitable land for socialized housing projects, saying the move would help more Filipino families own decent homes.

Co-sponsoring Senate Bill No. 1992 under Committee Report No. 54, which seeks to amend Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act, Ejercito said the country’s housing backlog cannot be addressed unless the persistent shortage of land for socialized housing is resolved.

“We see high-rise condominium developments everywhere, yet housing security for ordinary Filipinos remains inadequate. We want the growth of condominium units and commercial establishments to be matched by an increase in the number and accessibility of socialized housing units,” Ejercito said in his co-sponsorship speech.

“For our underprivileged sectors, we need suitable locations and faster, quality, and reliable housing production so that decent homes and dignified living become more accessible to Filipinos,” he added.

The bill requires local government units to conduct regular inventories of lands within their jurisdictions and identify areas suitable for socialized housing in coordination with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), the National Housing Authority, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority and the Land Management Bureau. Identified housing sites must also be integrated into the LGUs’ Comprehensive Land Use Plans.

Ejercito noted that although DHSUD has already inventoried more than 30,000 hectares of government land, only a small portion can actually be developed for housing.

“Because of legal and land-use restrictions, only about 30 percent is potentially suitable for housing. More than a decade later, the lack of available land continues to delay and slow down the production of socialized housing, especially in Metro Manila,” he said.

The San Juan lawmaker, who authored the law creating DHSUD, said the measure aims to establish a more comprehensive and practical system for identifying lands that can immediately be used for government housing programs.

“This measure is not simply about building more houses. It ensures that socialized housing sites are suitable for residential development and are safe from natural hazards and disaster risks,” he said.

The bill also requires that housing sites be selected based not only on land availability but also on their suitability for residential development, accessibility to basic services and employment opportunities, and resilience against natural hazards.

“I want to emphasize that a progressive nation begins with decent, safe, and humane homes,” Ejercito said.

He also called on concerned government agencies to accelerate the delivery of affordable housing projects.

“Let us continue strengthening and speeding up the production of socialized housing units so that, as public servants, we can provide our people with one of their most basic needs,” he said.