Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC)
Consultant: ROGELIO M. BALANZA
ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT
Month of September 2019
A.
1. SHFC Makati Office – Sept. 4- 6 – for meeting, briefing and instructions from President Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling
2. Signed Contract
3. Manila – Sept. 6 – covered/witnessed First Social Housing Convergence in Land Bank Ermita organized by HUDCC/SHFC
4. Davao City, Almendras Gym – Sept. 21 – Witnessed/covered, took photos – SHFC-LGU DAVAO CITY PUBLIC FORUM
5. Davao City, Park Inn Hotel – Sept. 9-11 – Mobilizers Seminar on New Guidelines for the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) and Gender Sensitivity Training.
B.
PUBLISHED NEWS REPORTS/PHOTONEWS/COLUMNS (All stories posted in websites DURIAN POST (durianburg.com) and TOPNEWSNOW (topnews1948.com)
1. 3,000 HOMELESS POOR JOIN DAVAO CITY PUBLIC FORUM ON SOCIALIZED HOUSING
https://durianburg.com/2019/10/01/3000-homeless-poor-join-davao-city-public-forum-on-socialized-housing/
BY ROGER M. BALANZA
About 3,000 homeless poor jam-packed Davao City’s recreation Center on September 21, during a Public Forum on Social Housing organized by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC).
The forum focused on the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the SHFC flagship program on socialized housing that aims to cut down the number of the country’s homeless families.
Most of the participants were members and officers of homeowners associations which have pending or approved housing loans with SHFC. The CMP uses as conduit for the housing loans the homeowners associations which number about 100 in Davao City.
The event dubbed “SHFC-DAVAO SHELTER PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC FORUM,” led by SHFC president lawyer Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, was held at the Almendras Gym (Davao City Recreation Center).SHFC, which handles low-cost housing loans for the country’s homeless poor, is a line agency of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) headed by chairman Eduardo del Rosario.
Providing a home to homeless Filipinos is among the top priority programs of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The major focus of the forum was SHFC’s huge funds available for lending that a Local Government Unit (LGU) can avail of for its socialized housing program.
Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste’ Duterte, the event Guest Speaker and who sits as Acting City Mayor, thanked SHFC for its socialized housing program that benefited the Dabawenyos.
His Speech was read for him by City Councilor Jesus Joseph Zozobrado III, chairman of the Davao City Council Committee on Housing and Urban Development.
For his part, Zozobrado said his committee and members of the Davao City Council would extend help to homeowners associations seeking permits from the legislative body.
City Hall officials who joined the forum were Roy Ryan Rigor II, Assistant Coordinator/City Planning and Development Office, who welcomed the participants; and Elsie Du, head of the City Housing and Homesite Office.
SHFC officials who contributed inputs during the event were Margo Babao, Chief, Loan administration Department; Lawrence Baniso, Senior Vice President, Mindanao Area Operation Department; Atty. Ronaldo Saco, Legal Partners Policy Enforcement. Gerald Amba, OIC, Region XI South Area Operations, moderated the forum.
SHFC President Cabling’s discussion of the New CMP Modalities became the major focus of the forum. His announcement that the SHFC Board of Directors has approved a resolution pruning down housing loan interest from 6% to 4.5% was loudly applauded by the participants.
Cabling, a Dabawenyo like President Duterte, also offered the loan to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte to fund her low-cost housing project to the homeless among the city’s 1.7 million population. The center of trade and commerce in Southern Mindanao, Davao City’s housing woes have been increased by migration of people from other areas looking for opportunities in Mindanao’s most progressive city.
Cabling is no stranger to the city’s social housing woes, having been for nine years as City Councilor chaired the Davao City Council Committee on Housing and Urban Development. Cabling is also the author of the Davao City Shelter Code that mapped out the city’s policies on housing and urban development. The latest amendment to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) was also hammered out by the committee of Cabling.
Also to be presented in the forum will be the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the centerpiece of SHFC’s program for the homeless poor Filipinos, that offers low-interest, long-term house-and-lot loan packages through homeowners associations.
SHFC-DAVAO SHELTER PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC FORUM is the latest of the nationwide road tour that SHFC has been conducting to promote CMP and the SHFC’s loan package for LGU socialized housing programs.
2. SHFC HOLDS DAVAO CITY PUBLIC FORUM ON SOCIALIZED HOUSING – published in DURIAN POST ONLINE
https://durianburg.com/2019/09/20/shfc-holds-davao-city-public-forum-on-socialized-housing/
By ROGER M. BALANZA
The Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) will hold a Public Forum in Davao City on its flagship programs on socialized housing as the agency attempts to cut down the number of homeless families in the home city of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The event dubbed “SHFC-DAVAO SHELTER PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC FORUM,” to be led by SHFC president lawyer Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, will be held at the Almendras Gym (Davao City Recreation Center) on Saturday, September 21, starting at 1PM.
SHFC, which handles low-cost housing loans for the country’s homeless poor, is a line agency of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) headed by chairman Eduardo del Rosario.
Providing a home to homeless Filipinos is among the top priority programs of the Duterte administration.
Expected to attend the Public Forum are Davao City government officials, barangay officials, the local private housing industry and homeowners associations.
The major focus of the forum will be SHFC’s huge funds available for lending that a Local Government Unit (LGU) can avail of for its socialized housing program.
Cabling, a Dabawenyo like President Duterte, is expected to offer the loan to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte to fund her low-cost housing project to the homeless among the city’s 1.7 million population. The center of trade and commerce in Southern Mindanao, Davao City’s housing woes have been increased by migration of people from other areas looking for opportunities in Mindanao’s most progressive city.
Cabling is no stranger to the city’s social housing woes, having been for nine years as City Councilor chaired the Davao City Council Committee on Housing and Urban Development. Cabling is also the author of the Davao City Shelter Code that mapped out the city’s policies on housing and urban development. The latest amendment to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) was also hammered out by the committee of Cabling.
Also to be presented in the forum will be the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the centerpiece of SHFC’s program for the homeless poor Filipinos, that offers low-interest, long-term house-and-lot loan packages through homeowners associations.
SHFC-DAVAO SHELTER PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC FORUM is the latest of the nationwide road tour that SHFC has been conducting to promote CMP and the SHFC’s loan package for LGU socialized housing programs.
3. SHFC: EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH GENDER SENSITIVITY – published in DURIAN POST ONLINE
https://durianburg.com/2019/09/19/46099/
By ROGER M. BALANZA
The Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) promotes gender sensitivity not only in compliance with law but as well as help empower stakeholders especially women housing loan beneficiaries and community organizers.
SHFC, a line agency under the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) that is funding the government’s social housing program, is currently holding a nationwide Mobilizers Seminar on Gender Sensivity in relation to the Magna Carta of Women (Republic Act No. 9710) also known as the Gender Equality Act.
RA 9710 seeks to eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in marginalized sector. Under the law, local governments and government agencies are mandated to have a Gender and Development (GAD) program promoting gender sensitivity.
The seminar for Mobilizers is the other half of a two-billed series of seminars in Luzon, National Capital Region (NCR), Visayas and Mindanao highlighted by the Mobilizers Seminar on New Guidelines for the Community Mortgage Program (CMP).
Mobilizers assist SHFC in organizing and assisting homeowners association of homeless families secure loans under the CMP for low-cost housing from the SHFC. After the training, the Mobilizers would eventually be part of the frontliners of SHFC’s ground-level activities on gender sensitivity for the housing loan borrowers.
The seminars have already been held in NCR and Luzon and will be conducted in Cebu City for its Visayas tour by the end of September.The Mindanao leg of the three-day twin seminars, held in Davao City on September 9-11, was attended by about 50 Mobilizers and representatives from Local Government Units (LGUs), said Atty. Salie Taguian, SHFC vice president for Partners Relation.
Taguian said SHFC has earmarked P8 million for the seminars and trainings and other activities related to gender sensitivity.
At the sideline of the Davao City event, Taguian said the SHFC gender sensitivity campaign has a fitting target.
“Most of the officers of the homeowners associations whose members were granted housing loans are women,” she said.
The objective of the Equality Act is to prevent gender-based discrimination and promote equality between women and men, thereby improving the status of women, particularly in working life.
It also seeks perspectives and processes that are participatory and empowering for women, supportive of their self-determination to develop their potentials as key players in social and economic development.
Taguian said the SHFC gender sensitivity seminars are capacity-building efforts that hope to empower women to become leaders and tools of development.
Promotion of gender sensitivity is being strongly pushed by SHFC president Atty. Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling.
4. COLUMN/DURIAN POST – THE DURIAN BEAT: DAY OF THE HOMELESS PINOY
https://durianburg.com/2019/09/17/the-durian-beat-day-of-the-homeless-pinoy/
On that day, the First Social Housing Convergence that gathered all government agencies and other stakeholders concerned with the implementation of the government’s socialized housing program, was held in Manila. Juxtaposed against the country’s housing backlog of more than 6 million, the gathering other than being historic might as well be the best pro-poor action of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and the government’s housing agencies.
The Convergence was led by Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) President Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling. HUDCC is the focal agency of the government’s housing program; SHFC is the financing arm of low-cost socialized housing for the country’s homeless poor.
The day-long Convergence, held at the Land Bank of the Philippines Plaza in Ermita and organized by SHFC, was the culminating event of the celebration of the 31st anniversary of the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the flagship program of the SHFC.
The gathering of more than 200 people from government agencies and various stakeholders was spiced up by the attendance of special guests Senator Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development, and Negros Occidental Representative Jose Francisco Benitez, vice chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development.
Sen. Tolentino urged social housing stakeholders to join hands in building resilient houses using mass production techniques for the country to meet its target of providing homes to the country’s poor and those displaced by disasters like earthquake and typhoons or moved out of risk areas.
Rep. Benitez, for his part, assured the SHFC and all other key shelter agencies of the House support for legislative initiatives on housing and urban development. Benitez also highlighted House Bill 42 or the Local Government-Led In-Site, In-City, or Near-City Resettlement Act.
The bill will ensure the sustainability and viability of resettlement sites through access to services and employment opportunities, Benitez said.
Rep. Benitez, who represented Rep. Strike Revilla (Cavite, 2nd District), chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, also stressed the key role that SHFC will play in the implentation of Bill 42.
Lauding the CMP as a testament to the “bayanihan” spirit of the people, Benitez congratulated SHFC for its “invaluable work on providing flexible, affordable, innovative and responsive shelter solutions to homeless low-income families.”
He also praised the agency for its partnership with national agencies, local governments and civil society organizations that resulted to the efficient implementation of the government’s socialized housing programs.
Land Bank President and CEO Cecilia “Cecile” C. Borromeo, who welcomed the participants, assured of continuing financial support for the BALAI program, the comprehensive program crafted by housing czar del Rosario.
BALAI (Building Adequate, Liveable, Affordable and Inclusive) houses for Filipino Communities, established a unified vision for all government shelter agencies under the supervision of HUDCC to speed up delivery of solutions to the country’s housing woes.
What made the Convergence a big success is that the country’s housing program, particularly low-cost housing, earned legislative support of the Senate and the House, continuing funding support from a government bank, willing collaboration of private sector housing community and the various stakeholders. This is a positive brew that could prop up towards success the government’s mission to provide a home to every homeless Pinoy.
There are about 4.5 million homeless people in the Philippines of a population of about 106 million, about 3 million of them in Manila, according to the Philippine Statistics Office.
Cabling said the SHFC target is 200,000 houses from today up to 2022, for a total number of units of 500,000 built since it was founded 30 years ago. The SHFC over the past three decades poured over P14 billion, under its CMP program, in housing loan assistance to more than 300,000 families.
The cost of providing a roof over the heads of the millions of the homeless poor Pinoys may be staggering, but solidarity in purpose and unity in action could help the country resolve the housing woes.
As Rep. Benitez, in his speech at the Convergence, said: “Let us work together on achieving our vision and the safety and security of the homeless in a house they can call their own, where opportunities will enable the people to rise from poverty.” (Published in PNA)
5. COLUMN/Philippine News Agency (PNA) – THE DURIAN BEAT: DAY OF THE HOMELESS PINOY
https://www.pna.gov.ph/opinion/pieces/230-day-of-the-homeless-poor-
Let us work together on achieving our vision and the safety and security of the homeless in a house they can call their own, where opportunities will enable the people to rise from poverty.”
By Roger Balanza
There is a day that the Pinoy homeless poor should celebrate: September 6, 2019.
On that day, government agencies and various stakeholders with a heart and mission to provide a home to every Filipino homeless family congregated to map out a plan to strengthen the government’s socialized housing program.
On that day, the First Social Housing Convergence that gathered all government agencies and other stakeholders concerned with the implementation of the government’s socialized housing program, was held in Manila. Juxtaposed against the country’s housing backlog of more than 6 million, the gathering other than being historic might as well be the best pro-poor action of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and the government’s housing agencies.The Convergence was led by Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) President Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling. HUDCC is the focal agency of the government’s housing program; SHFC is the financing arm of low-cost socialized housing for the country’s homeless poor.
The day-long Convergence, held at the Land Bank of the Philippines Plaza in Ermita and organized by SHFC, was the culminating event of the celebration of the 31st anniversary of the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the flagship program of the SHFC.
The gathering of more than 200 people from government agencies and various stakeholders was spiced up by the attendance of special guests Senator Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development, and Negros Occidental Representative Jose Francisco Benitez, vice chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development.
Sen. Tolentino urged social housing stakeholders to join hands in building resilient houses using mass production techniques for the country to meet its target of providing homes to the country’s poor and those displaced by disasters like earthquake and typhoons or moved out of risk areas.
Rep. Benitez, for his part, assured the SHFC and all other key shelter agencies of the House support for legislative initiatives on housing and urban development. Benitez also highlighted House Bill 42 or the Local Government-Led In-Site, In-City, or Near-City Resettlement Act.
The bill will ensure the sustainability and viability of resettlement sites through access to services and employment opportunities, Benitez said.
Rep. Benitez, who represented Rep. Strike Revilla (Cavite, 2nd District), chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, also stressed the key role that SHFC will play in the implentation of Bill 42.
Lauding the CMP as a testament to the “bayanihan” spirit of the people, Benitez congratulated SHFC for its “invaluable work on providing flexible, affordable, innovative and responsive shelter solutions to homeless low-income families.”
He also praised the agency for its partnership with national agencies, local governments and civil society organizations that resulted to the efficient implementation of the government’s socialized housing programs.
Land Bank President and CEO Cecilia “Cecile” C. Borromeo, who welcomed the participants, assured of continuing financial support for the BALAI program, the comprehensive program crafted by housing czar del Rosario.
BALAI (Building Adequate, Liveable, Affordable and Inclusive) houses for Filipino Communities, established a unified vision for all government shelter agencies under the supervision of HUDCC to speed up delivery of solutions to the country’s housing woes.
What made the Convergence a big success is that the country’s housing program, particularly low-cost housing, earned legislative support of the Senate and the House, continuing funding support from a government bank, willing collaboration of private sector housing community and the various stakeholders. This is a positive brew that could prop up towards success the government’s mission to provide a home to every homeless Pinoy.
There are about 4.5 million homeless people in the Philippines of a population of about 106 million, about 3 million of them in Manila, according to the Philippine Statistics Office.
Cabling said the SHFC target is 200,000 houses from today up to 2022, for a total number of units of 500,000 built since it was founded 30 years ago. The SHFC over the past three decades poured over P14 billion, under its CMP program, in housing loan assistance to more than 300,000 families.
The cost of providing a roof over the heads of the millions of the homeless poor Pinoys may be staggering, but solidarity in purpose and unity in action could help the country resolve the housing woes.
As Rep. Benitez, in his speech at the Convergence, said: “Let us work together on achieving our vision and the safety and security of the homeless in a house they can call their own, where opportunities will enable the people to rise from poverty.” (Published in PNA)
6. ANGARA WANTS SHORTER TIME FOR SOCIALIZED HOUSING PROCESSING
https://durianburg.com/2019/09/15/angara-wants-shorter-time-for-socialized-housing-processing/
Senator Sonny Angara on Friday, September 13, pushed for the streamlining and simplifying of the issuance of housing-related clearances and permits through the creation of one-stop processing centers to address the backlog in the construction of settlements for the informal sector.
Angara warned that the national housing backlog would worsen and turn into a national housing crisis if the bureaucratic red tape in government housing agencies is not reduced.
Based on future demand and the current pace of production, the backlog in housing units is forecast to hit 6.6 million by 2022, from 5.5 million in 2016.
For the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), the pre-construction processing time for its Community Mortgage Program projects is between 16 to 74 months, according to the Senator.
“But we can ramp up production by improving the regulatory environment. When there is ease in doing business, financing comes in, and with volume comes affordability,” Angara said.
Atty. Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, SHFC president, said his agency targets 300,000 low-cost housing by 2022 to add up to its current account of 200,000. The SHFC mandate is to provide housing to the homeless poor.
Cabling bared the figure on September 6, at the First Socialized Housing Convergence held in Manila. The Convergence was attended by government agencies and stakeholders in the socialized housing sector.
The Convergence, one of the highlights of the 31st anniversary celebration of the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the socialized housing flagship of the SHFC, was organized by SHFC and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) headed by chairman Eduardo del Rosario.
Angara said the mandate of several anti-red tape laws should be applied to housing “not just in national government agencies but also in local governments.”
The senator particularly cited Republic Act 10884, which requires the establishment of socialized housing one-stop processing centers.
Angara said building a house is a slog through 27 offices, 78 permits, 156 signatures, 373 documents that could last for months.
For socialized or affordable mass housing, pre-construction processing time could last up to 74 months, if it involves land conversion, titling, and financing, he noted.
“Before you pour your first pail of cement, you have to follow a long paper trail. And many families do not have the energy for that,“ he said.
Angara said government housing officials have reported to him that it normally takes the National Housing Authority 12 to 30 months to get a green light for construction. (with PNA report)
7. GO HOUSING BILL: LOW-COST HOUSES FOR THE POOR
https://durianburg.com/2019/09/15/go-housing-bill-low-cost-houses-for-the-poor/
The Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) will be in the lead in developing, administering and undertaking social housing programs that will cater to the housing needs of the poorest of the poor, in the proposed bill authored by Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go that aims to address the housing plight of formal and informal sectors in the low-income bracket.
Go said Senate Bill No. 203, or the proposed National Housing Development, Production and Financing Act of 2019, is in support of the Duterte administration’s aim to address the need for affordable, accessible and quality housing in the country.
The bill mandates the crafting of a National Housing Development Production and Financing Program to be implemented by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and its attached key shelter agencies.
Go announced this after recently joining President Duterte in the groundbreaking of a relocation site for victims of a 2018 landslide in Naga City, Cebu.
Based on the Go measure, NHA 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 resettlement, 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 (SHFC) to develop, administer and undertake social housing programs that will cater to the housing needs of the poorest of the poor.
The proposed law also tasks the National Home Mortga ge Finance Corporation (NHMFC) to increase the availability of affordable housing loans to finance Filipino homebuyers, and for 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 with the Ease of Doing Business Act.
“Dapat sa susunod na mga taon, wala nang squatter sa sariling bayan. This measure aims to address the 6.5-million housing gap over the period of 20 years,” Go said in past statements. (Hopefully, there will be no more Filipinos considered as a squatter in his own country.)
The government is expected to build 192 housing units in the Cebu area to be awarded to some of the families that were displaced when a landslide occurred in Sitios Sindulan III and Tagaytay of Barangay Tinaan on September 20, 2018.
Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) triggered the landslide, which affected more than 8,000 individuals and caused the death of more than 70 people.
“This event is a fulfillment of our promise to provide an affordable and sustainable resettlement site for the victims,” Duterte said in his speech.
The President also said that the beneficiaries will not be required to pay for the housing units.
“I order the National Housing Authority to give as a gift the housing units in the Naga permanent housing project,” he added.
“All of these, the house and the lot, will be given to you for free,” he stressed.
The victims of the landslide had to be relocated to a two-hectare portion of the Balili property in Barangay Tinaan because their original settlement had been declared unsafe by the authorities. The Cebu provincial government donated the property to the city of Naga. (Manila Bulletin)
8. SENATE, HOUSE VOW SUPPORT FOR SOCIALIZED HOUSING
https://durianburg.com/2019/09/08/house-vows-support-for-socialized-housing/
MANILA – Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) has assured full support of the House for legislation to further strengthen the government’s social housing programs.
Benitez, vice chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, made the assurance Thursday, September 6, in his speech at the First Social Housing Convergence that gathered all government agencies and other stakeholders concerned with the implementation of the government’s socialized housing programs.
The day-long Convergence, held at the Land Bank of the Philippines Plaza in Ermita in Manila and organized by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), was the culminating event of the celebration of the 31st anniversary of the Community Mortgagw Program (CMP)
The Convergence was led by Secretary Eduardo del Rosario of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and SHFC President Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling. The special guest was Senator Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development.
Tolentino urged social housing stakeholders to join hands in building resilient houses using mass production techniques for the country to meet its target of providing homes to the country’s poor and those displaced by disasters like earthquake and typhoons. Cabling said the SHFC target is 500,000 houses by 2022.
Assuring the SHFC and all other key shelter agencies of the House support for legislative initiatives on housing and urban development, Benitez highlighted House Bill 42 or the Local Government-Led In-Site, In-City, or Near-City Resettlement Act.
The bill will ensure the sustainability and viability of resettlement sites through access to services and employment opportunities, Benitez said.
Benitez also stressed the key role that SHFC will play in the implentation of Bill 42.
“Let us work together on achieving your vision and the safety and security of the homeless in a house they can call their own, where opportunities will enable the people to rise from poverty,” said Benitez who represented Rep. Strike Revilla (Cavite, 2nd District), chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development.
Lauding the CMP as a testament to the “bayanihan” spirit of the people, Benitez congratulated SHFC for its “invaluable work on providing flexible, affordable, innovative and responsive shelter solutions to low-income families especially the homeless.
He also praised the agency for its partnership with national agencies, local governments and civil society organizations that resulted to the efficient implementation of the government’s socialized housing programs.
9. CABLING TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: AVAIL OF SHFC HOUSING PROGRAM
https://durianburg.com/2019/09/04/cabling-to-local-governments-avail-of-shfc-housing-program/
A GOVERNMENT shelter official urged local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental to avail themselves of the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) housing loan services in providing housing needs of its constituents.
During the recent joint Provincial Development Council (PDC) and Provincial Peace and Order Council meeting at the Negros First Residences, SHFC president and lawyer Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling said the country has 6.5 million housing backlog and is still growing.
The housing agency he said offers lot and housing acquisition at an affordable rate of 4.5 percent per annum, 30 years to pay depending on the LGU’s needs.
Beneficiaries may also opt to own a property through usufruct for 99 years, he added.
He cited San Carlos City that has a resettlement area having site development like road network, drainage, septic tank and lot but has no housing component. The city has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the SHFC for a housing project.
San Carlos City alone could have around 20,000 to 50,000 housing needs and Bacolod City could have a bigger housing needs as a booming area, he said.
“There’s a need to partner with LGUs. It is high time to give our constituents a comfortable shelter,” Cabling said.
Negros Occidental is a fast developing province that has been hit by typhoons in the past.
“The law states that areas in danger zones must be secured,” he pointed out.
He said the SHFC is exploring partnership with the Provincial Government to develop a housing project for provincial and national government employees.
SHFC is one of the government’s shelter agencies and is attached with the Human Settlements.
“I hope LGUs here will work with us, after all we provided very flexible shelter solutions,” he said
10. SHFC, DavOr to construct 50K low-cost housing units
https://durianburg.com/2019/08/23/45611/
The provincial government of Davao Oriental has targeted a total of 50,000 housing units to be constructed in the next three years to address the housing backlog in the province.
Flordeliza Tabanao, Provincial Task Force on Socialized Housing Chief, said after the ground-breaking ceremony for the first batch covering Phases 1 to 3 of the project.
Tabanao added that the project was funded by the Socialized Housing Finance Corp.
Dabawenyo Atty. Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling is the president of the SHFC, the funding agency of the government’s social housing program.
With a lot area of 15 hectares, beneficiaries can own a 100-square-meter lot for PHP2,800 a month over 25 years.
The Provincial Housing Task Force has organized the beneficiaries, now called the Mandaya-Muslim-Bisaya Homeowners Association Inc., as instructed by Governor Nelson Dayanghirang.
In an interview with Tabanao on Friday, she said Phase 1 consists of 256 units, while Phase 2 has 247 units. There are 240 units in Phase 3 and 103 units on Phase 4.
“This is only the first batch. Rest assured that there will be more available units in the coming months. In fact, we will be drawing lots tomorrow (July 6) for the beneficiaries of the next batch,” she added.
The provincial government will prioritize residents in low-lying areas and those directly affected by the implementation of government projects.
“This is our way of helping our homeless populace. Any local resident can avail of the project as long as he does not own a house and lot. We do not want to deprive them of the opportunity to own their own house and lot,” Dayanghirang said.
The SHFC will pay the Tolentino family, who is the owner of the lot, in the next two months, and as such, construction of the houses will immediately start.
Tabanao said the beneficiaries can occupy their houses as soon as construction is completed next year.
The provincial government of Davao Oriental has appealed to the local government units to fast-track their compliance with the necessary documents so they can avail of the SHFC funding.
“They better do it quickly because the allocation of the SHFC is yearly and on a first-come, first-served basis. If they cannot do it, the provincial government will do it for them. This is how serious we are in helping them,” Dayanghirang said.
11 – BONG GO KEYNOTES IRR SIGNING OF DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
https://durianburg.com/2019/07/24/bong-go-keynotes-irr-signing-of-department-of-human-settlements/
A momentous event for the housing industry took place on July 19, 2019 with the signing of the implementing rules and regulations of the Republic Act No. 11201 or the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Quezon City.
SHFC President Atty. Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling signed the document, along with HUDCC Chairperson Eduardo del Rosario, HLURB CEO and Commissioner Atty. Lloyd Lao, NHMFC President Dr. Felixberto Bustos, HDMF CEO Acmad Rizaldy Moti, Department of Budget and Management Usec. Janet Abuel, and Civil Service Commission Chairperson Alicia Dela Rosa-Bala.
Former Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito and former Congressman Alberto “Albee” Benitez” were awarded with a plaque of recognition for their role as prime movers in the passage of the law. Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, meanwhile, received a plaque of appreciation for imparting valuable insights as keynote speaker.
Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC)
Consultant: ROGELIO M. BALANZA
ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT
Period: October 1-31 2019
A. ACTIVITIES
1. October 1-13, 2019 – SICK LEAVE (pneumonia)
2. OCTOBER 14, 2019 , SHFC Office, Davao City – Meeting for instructions, info-sharing with Pres. Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling
3. October 30, 2019 – Digos City, Davao del Sur – MOU SIGNING, Governor Douglas Cagas, SHFC President Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling
B. PUBLISHED NEWS, VIDEOPHOTONEWS. (All stories posted in websites DURIAN POST (durianburg.com) and TOPNEWSNOW (topnews1948.com)
1. 3,000 HOMELESS POOR JOIN DAVAO CITY PUBLIC FORUM ON SOCIALIZED HOUSING
https://durianburg.com/2019/10/01/3000-homeless-poor-join-davao-city-public-forum-on-socialized-housing/
BY ROGER M. BALANZA
About 3,000 homeless poor jam-packed Davao City’s recreation Center on September 21, during a Public Forum on Social Housing organized by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC).
The forum focused on the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the SHFC flagship program on socialized housing that aims to cut down the number of the country’s homeless families
Most of the participants were members and officers of homeowners associations which have pending or approved housing loans with SHFC. The CMP uses as conduit for the housing loans the homeowners associations which number about 100 in Davao City.
The event dubbed “SHFC-DAVAO SHELTER PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC FORUM,” led by SHFC president lawyer Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, was held at the Almendras Gym (Davao City Recreation Center).SHFC, which handles low-cost housing loans for the country’s homeless poor, is a line agency of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) headed by chairman Eduardo del Rosario.
Providing a home to homeless Filipinos is among the top priority programs of President Rodrigo Duterte.
The major focus of the forum was SHFC’s huge funds available for lending that a Local Government Unit (LGU) can avail of for its socialized housing program.
Vice Mayor Sebastian “Baste’ Duterte, the event Guest Speaker and who sits as Acting City Mayor, thanked SHFC for its socialized housing program that benefited the Dabawenyos.
His Speech was read for him by City Councilor Jesus Joseph Zozobrado III, chairman of the Davao City Council Committee on Housing and Urban Development.
For his part, Zozobrado said his committee and members of the Davao City Council would extend help to homeowners associations seeking permits from the legislative body.
City Hall officials who joined the forum were Roy Ryan Rigor II, Assistant Coordinator/City Planning and Development Office, who welcomed the participants; and Elsie Du, head of the City Housing and Homesite Office.
SHFC officials who contributed inputs during the event were Margo Babao, Chief, Loan administration Department; Lawrence Baniso, Senior Vice President, Mindanao Area Operation Department; Atty. Ronaldo Saco, Legal Partners Policy Enforcement. Gerald Amba, OIC, Region XI South Area Operations, moderated the forum.
SHFC President Cabling’s discussion of the New CMP Modalities became the major focus of the forum. His announcement that the SHFC Board of Directors has approved a resolution pruning down housing loan interest from 6% to 4.5% was loudly applauded by the participants.
Cabling, a Dabawenyo like President Duterte, also offered the loan to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte to fund her low-cost housing project to the homeless among the city’s 1.7 million population. The center of trade and commerce in Southern Mindanao, Davao City’s housing woes have been increased by migration of people from other areas looking for opportunities in Mindanao’s most progressive city.
Cabling is no stranger to the city’s social housing woes, having been for nine years as City Councilor chaired the Davao City Council Committee on Housing and Urban Development. Cabling is also the author of the Davao City Shelter Code that mapped out the city’s policies on housing and urban development. The latest amendment to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) was also hammered out by the committee of Cabling.
Also to be presented in the forum will be the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the centerpiece of SHFC’s program for the homeless poor Filipinos, that offers low-interest, long-term house-and-lot loan packages through homeowners associations.
SHFC-DAVAO SHELTER PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC FORUM is the latest of the nationwide road tour that SHFC has been conducting to promote CMP and the SHFC’s loan package for LGU socialized housing programs.
2. HUDCC: 1.9 MILLION ‘SQUATTERS’ NATIONWIDE
https://durianburg.com/2019/10/15/hudcc-1-9-million-squatters-nationwide/
P855-BILLION NEEDED TO RELOCATE INFORMAL SETTLER FAMILIES (ISF)
SHFC: P15-BILLION HOUSING LOANS RELEASED
HUDCC: RELOCATING ISFs A GOVT
3. SHFC, MAYOR TEODORO LOCK ARMS TO MAKE MARIKINA CITY SQUATTER-FREE
https://durianburg.com/2019/10/16/shfc-mayor-teodoro-lock-arms-to-make-marikina-city-squatter-free/
Marikina City is now free of illegal settlers through the help of the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC).
City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said SHFC through its Community Mortgage Program (CMP) ensured through housing loans the security of land tenure of about 9,000 Informal Family Settlers (ISF).
“Because of the relentless efforts of the local government the city is now free from illegal settlers. Matatas ko pong masasabi na wala na kaming illegal settlers dahil sa aming mga proyekto para mga tao, at lalo na dahil sa tulong ng (I can proudly say that we no longer have illegal settlers because of our projects for the people, especially with the help of) SHFC,” Mayor Teodoro said in his speech, during the 31st anniversary of the SHFC’s CMP at the GSIS Gym in Marikina City last
The coordination with local governments plays a very important role in our effort of providing resilient and sustainable communities to the homeless, said Cabling.
Mayor Teodoro congratulated the SFHC, saying “it has not been an easy feat implementing the CMP, which is consistently providing opportunities to organize families into sustainable and resilient communities.”
He said that since 1992, of the 246 community associations in Marikina, 166 or almost 70 percent already attained security of land tenure and from this, 90 communities underwent the CMP. This translates to more than 9,000 families aided by the SHFC.
“Itong siyam libong pamilya pong ito na inyong natulungan ay masaya at tahimik ngayon na naninirahan, walang pangambang baka minsan ay matanggalan ng matutuluyan o masisilungan (These 9,000 families whom you have helped are now happy and are peacefully living without thinking that their shelter will be taken away from them) ,” the local chief executive noted.
The mayor noted that Marikina has been a partner of the agency for almost 27 years in improving the living conditions of the homeless and underprivileged through affordable financing.
“The affordable financing of SFHC provides the opportunity to secure tenure on the land that has been their home for the longest time,” Teodoro said.
Nena V. Tiglao, Marikina City Land Management and Community Relations Division chief, said the land distribution was intensified in their city following the order of Teodoro because he wants all residents to own land.
Over 100 households from Metro Manila received their respective transfer certificate of title from the SHFC during the program. They are now part of the more than 300,000 families who have attained land tenure security since the inception of CMP in 1988, the agency said.
Senator Francis Tolentino, who also graced the event, lauded the city government of Marikina for its relentless effort in improving the lives of the residents by providing them lots.
“It is not enough that you are awarded individual titles. What should be more effective is that we have titles that should lead to a resilient and sustainable community,” the lawmaker said. (with PNA report)
4. EASTERN VISAYAS RDC WANTS SHFC REGIONAL OFFICE IN TACLOBAN
https://durianburg.com/2019/10/16/eastern-visayas-rdc-wants-shfc-regional-office-in-tacloban/
The Eastern Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC) is pushing for the establishment of a regional office in Tacloban City of the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) to supervise its housing projects in the region.
The RDC also wants the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) to set up a regional office in the city, among cities ravaged by Super-typhoon Yolanda.
The RDC is pushing for the setting up of these two offices to eliminate corruption in the implementation of community-based housing projects and fast-track the issuance of clearances and licenses for housing activities.
Lawyer Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling is president of the SHFC, the lead agency implementing the government’s socialized housing program.
Lloyd Christopher Lao is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the HLURB, the primary agency mandated to provide technical assistance in the preparation, review, and approval of Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of local government units.
Eastern Visayas’ highest policy-making body sent the resolutions approved on June 21, 2019, to the Office of the President and to the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.
But the RDC is still waiting for the central government’s response on the resolutions requesting for the establishment of regional offices of the two government agencies.
National Economic and Development Authority regional director Meylene Rosales, the RDC’s vice-chairperson, however said that they are upbeat on the positive response of the President Rodrigo Duterte and HUDCC chairman Eduardo del Rosario.
The RDC pushed for setting up of these two offices to eliminate corruption in the implementation of community-based housing projects and fast-track the issuance of clearances and licenses for housing activities.
“There was an issue raised on the alleged irregular collection of fees from the beneficiaries of the government’s permanent housing project implemented through SHFC. The major factor behind this was the absence of their field office here in the region to monitor projects,” Rosales said in a report in the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Early this year, hundreds of housing beneficiaries have filed cases against a community housing organizer and her accomplices for overpricing of land acquisition, non-remittance of payments, and illegal collection of fees from recipients housing projects funded by SHFC.
Meanwhile, the absence of HLURB regional office has slowed down the pace of housing projects due to the lack of personnel and absence of authority to monitor and resolve issues and approve plans and applications for clearances and licenses.
“RDC members agreed that the presence of a fully staffed HLURB and SHFC offices in the region is important to regulate and monitor the implementation of remaining Yolanda resettlement projects and other ongoing and future housing projects,” Rosales said.
The HLURB regional office in this city has stopped its operation in 2010 after the merger of two field offices in Cebu and Tacloban due to the implementation of the Government Rationalization Program.
The agency has been maintaining a desk at the Government Service Insurance System office in this city to answer public queries. All transactions from the region have to go through the regional office in Cebu City.
All development and constructions on land of towns and cities without the CLUP will have to get the approval of the HLURB office in Cebu.
As of 2018, only 85 percent of the region’s 143 towns and cities have approved CLUPs.
5. P300-MILLION 625-unit tenement for the poor to rise in Lucena City
https://durianburg.com/2019/10/16/p300-million-625-unit-tenement-for-the-poor-to-rise-in-lucena-city/
Lucena City Mayor Roderick Alcala and Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) president Arnulfo Cabling led the groundbreaking ceremony for the five-story tenement building in Barangay Marketview in Lucena City early this month.
Alcala said the tenement will house 625 indigent families, each to be given a 23-square meter floor area with room for a loft, with a minimal monthly amortization.
He said families living in high-risk areas such as riverbanks are prioritized in this joint project of the city government and SHFC that is being funded with close to PHP300 million.
Alcala said the project, the first in Calabarzon region, is in response to requests received by his office by families who lack a decent shelter.
Marketview barangay chairman Edwin Napule thanked the city government for choosing his village as the pilot beneficiary of the low-cost housing project.
He said they will make sure the intended occupants will really reside in the tenement and not rent out their unit to other people.
Alcala said the housing project is expected to be completed within 36 months. (PNA)
6. SHFC: MAKING AN IMPACT ON HOMELESS PINOYS
https://durianburg.com/2019/10/16/shfc-making-an-impact-on-homeless-pinoys/
The Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) could be considered obscure to many, but the youngest government agency caters to the housing needs of both formal and informal settlers facing ejection or demolition of their abodes.
Fifteen years since its formation, the SHFC provides not only individual shelters to displaced families but communities as well, complete with livelihood programs for their sustainability.
While still a fledgling in the housing industry and small in size, the SHFC has already made its impact by providing not only affordable homes but sustainable and resilient communities.
During the “Straight Talk with Daily Tribune”, on Tuesday, October 15, SHFC president Atty. Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling emphasized that SHFC is mandated not only to provide affordable houses to those belonging to the low-income bracket, but to build progressive communities, too.
From its creation by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, SHFC has already built 2,723 communities throughout the country –mostly occupied by the displaced poorest of the poor, who lost their houses either through eviction or relocation.
The SHFC has provided security of tenure to 311,914 informal settler families (ISF) in various parts of the country.
“The mandate of social housing is to provide shelter provision at the lowest possible interest rate for both formal and informal sectors belonging to the lowest income bracket of the society,” Cabling explained.
“We started with providing security of tenure to on-site communities, formal communities occupying private or government lands facing threats of demolition, or they are about to be removed or ejected from the property,” he added.
The SHFC’s flagship housing initiative is aptly called Community Mortgage Program (CMP), anchored on the unique Filipino tradition of “Bayanihan.”
“It’s community-based, it’s a community effort. That’s the way to lower down the cost. Why? We tap the members of the community to help – from the local government up to the barangay level,” Cabling explained.
“Even the ordinary people, we do ‘bayanihan’ in constructing canals, drainage. That’s the way we could reduce the cost,” he added.
Under the program, Cabling said that the beneficiaries are involved from the planning, choosing the areas of relocation, up to the actual design of their homes based on the community’s capability to pay.
“We empower the people and teach them how to negotiate so that they can haggle with the land owners. And then, they borrow money from us to pay the land owners, payable in 25 years with six percent annual interest rate based on diminishing balance,” Cabling added.
“It’s a partnership, it’s people-planned program. We work together –from site preferences to the design,” he said.
While short in personnel of only about 200 scattered nationwide, Cabling said SHFC deploys representatives to help organize communities facing ejectment or demolition.
“That is our mandate, we organize communities so that they can avail (of government’s housing program),” said Cabling.
Under the CMP, beneficiaries apply as one community and not as individuals, unlike in other housing agencies where individual members could avail.
The concept, Cabling said, contribute to the high rate of occupancy of SHFC projects.
“With this, we maintain the sense of neighborhood. There is less adjustment when they relocate to other areas, so the occupancy rate, while it is not perfect, it’s good,” Cabling said.
“And we don’t just build communities, we build sustainable and resilient communities –meaning we have livelihood components,” he added.
Cabling cited the community SHFC set up in Palawan where the beneficiaries were provided with income opportunity in the cashew industry.
The SHFC president, however, noted the challenges in pursuing their projects –from documentary to opposition by some local government units (LGU) to host the relocated communities.
“Every project is a struggle, but at the end of the day, every project is a success story after its completion,” said Cabling, who served as Davao City councilor under President Rodrigo Duterte and daughter and incumbent Mayor Sara Duterte.
As of December 2018, SHFC has already granted P14.81 billion loan assistance with a collection efficiency rate of 74.31 percent. So far, the corporation has established partnership with 56 LGU throughout the country.
7. SHFC AND UN-HABITAT – PLAYING KEY ROLES IN REBUILDING MARAWI CITY
https://durianburg.com/2019/10/28/shfc-and-un-habitat-playing-key-roles-in-rebuilding-marawi-city/
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) have partnered in the efforts to rebuild Marawi City.
UN-Habitat and SHFC broke ground on Thursday, October 18, for a permanent housing project for 109 families in Marawi City, the latest of their joint ventures to resettle families displaced by the 2017 siege by terrorists of the country’s Muslim city.
Located in Barangay West Dulay, the housing project is intended for families in four villages whose houses are located within the six-meter easement of the Agus River and within the 20-meter easement of Lake Lanao.
Local officials maintained that houses within these easements remain unsafe, and are within the government’s “no-build” zones.
UN-Habitat said the project is part of its commitment to build 1,500 permanent housing units in Marawi through the PHP500-million funding granted by the Japanese government.
In West Dulay, UN-Habitat partnered with SHFC for the purchase of the 1.8-hectare land, one of the two properties acquired early this year to jumpstart the “Rebuilding Marawi City through Community-driven Shelter and Livelihood Support” initiative.
In January, SHFC held a groundbreaking ceremony in Barangay Dulay Proper for the construction of 800 permanent housing units for the families from the most affected area (MAA).
SHFC President Arnolfo Cabling explained that the delay was caused by the unexpected challenges they met, such as the purchase of land.
“Lot acquisition has been our problem…with respect to lot ownership, titles and many others,” Cabling said.
UN-Habitat Country Programme Manager, Christopher Rollo, said that the construction of the shelter units will be carried out through an approach called the “People’s Process” that places the community’s needs and their rights at the center of their recovery and rehabilitation.
Rollo elaborated that “this project emphasizes the direct involvement of the families or home partners in the decision making and the construction of their shelter units.”
“The partner communities underwent a series of workshops to be informed of the best structural design of their houses along with religious and cultural considerations,” he said.
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario reiterated the government’s pledge in bringing normalcy back to the city by December 2021 as indicated in their original timeline.
According to Del Rosario, several activities organized by the Task Force Bangon Marawi comprised of 56 member-agencies had been lined up to commemorate the historic event.
He also wants to give importance to the heroism of soldiers who lost their lives during the five-month siege, as well as the resilience of both the government and affected communities. (with PNA report)
8. DEL ROSARIO: In full blast soon, massive construction of houses for displaced Marawi siege victims
The construction site of the housing units for 100 families from Barangay West Dulay, who were displaced by the Marawi siege, broke ground on Thursday, October 17, during the commemoration of the second anniversary of the capital’s liberation from Islamic State-inspired terrorists.
The ceremony in Marawi City was part of the reporting event for the media organized by Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM), the Presidential Communications Operations Office, and the Philippine Information Agency to show the progress of the government’s rehabilitation and recovery efforts for those affected by the Battle of Marawi.
Present during the event were TFBM chairperson and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Secretary Eduardo del Rosario; Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra; Sultan Nasser Sampaco; Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) president, lawyer Arnolfo Cabling; members of the SHFC Board of Directors Lyndon Catulong Sr. and Ronald Barcena; UN-Habitat project manager Warren Ubongen; and contractor Fiat-a Macarambon.
In his speech, del Rosario gave a message of hope to thousands of the city’s internally displaced persons (IDPs).
“We are now ready to start with the construction of permanent housing units for the IDPs,” he told the beneficiaries, who have been living along the three-meter easement of the Agus River and Lake Lanao.
Aside from the 109 housing units that will be built in the coming months, del Rosario also noted that the TFBM secured 500 units of permanent shelters last week with the help of UN-Habitat and the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) headed by president lawyer Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling.
He said that with the 500 units already secured and the 109 units that broke ground, they already have 609 units, but still need to fast-track the rest of the 1,500 units promised by UN-Habitat, otherwise the remaining fund would be given back by March 31 next year.
Del Rosario said that by the end of October, they would declare the most affected area (MAA) in Marawi – the Ground Zero — cleared of bombs and hazards, having detected and recovered 625 explosives so far.
The NHA, he added, would declare the completion of damaged structures in the MAA by November 30.
“By the first quarter of next year, most of the projects that will be constructed in the MAA will start. That is why we are certain of our timetable. We have been saying that we are on track and we will complete the rehabilitation of Marawi by December 2021,” del Rosario said.
The processing of building permit applications for structures by residents in the MAA, began last July 30, allowing them to demolish the damaged houses from sectors 1 to 7 of the MAA and start architectural and engineering plans.
The Subcommittee on Housing, headed by the HUDCC and NHA, is already monitoring the temporary shelter units at the Biyaya ng Pagbabago Sagonsongan Transitory Site, which will accommodate 1,052 displaced households for Areas 1 to 6.
An additional 300 temporary shelter units in Area 8 are also under construction. At the Boganga Lakeview Shelter Site alone, 814 out of the 1,500 target housing units have been completed and 687 of these are already occupied by the displaced families.
In Barangay Rorogagus, a total of 1,000 housing units are being constructed in two sites and another 1,000 units will also be constructed in Barangay Dulay.
For the permanent housing, a total of 2,000 units will be constructed in Pamayandeg sa Ranaw Residences in barangays Kilala and Gadongan.
Apart from these housing units, the NHA will also construct two five-story low-rise buildings and one three-story multi-purpose building with a covered basketball court in Barangay Papandayan in Marawi.
“By December of 2021, I think 95 percent of the structures have been built. And Marawi City will be a prosperous city again, as promised by our President (Rodrigo Duterte),” del Rosario said.
He also floated the swift passage of an executive order (EO) that seeks to make the NHA the lead agency in undertaking key rehabilitation projects in the war-torn capital of Lanao del Sur, saying that the EO would authorize the NHA to undertake the unified road networks, electrical and water utilities, and telecommunication projects.
Del Rosario said that one agency should integrate the budget “because if all the agencies involved will do the road networks and the procurement processes for the water, electricity, and telecommunications have not (been) finalized yet, then everything will diverge,” he said.
Del Rosario said they were expecting the EO to be released this month as it has been with the Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea since last month.
It can be recalled that two years ago, the President announced the liberation of Marawi City after a gruelling five-month conflict to fend off Islamic State-inspired terrorists.
Since then, the task force’s 56 member agencies have continuously worked together to bring the lives of the residents back to normal through efforts in several areas.
For livelihood, micro, small and medium entrepreneurs of Marawi City have earned a total of PHP722,140 during the Bangon Marawi Trade Fair. On medical and health services, the Department of Health, in partnership with the World Health Organization – Philippines and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, targeted 134,441 children who were less than five years old across 39 municipalities in Lanao del Sur for its campaign against polio.
On relief services, the Department of Social Welfare and Development distributed hygiene kits, family kits, food packs, and malongs to displaced families in transitory shelters. Taiwan, through the World Vision Philippines, also donated a total of 66,000 sacks of rice at 30 kg. per sack for the displaced families.
For skills training, the Department of Information and Communications Technology conducted a workshop for 100 IDP scholars on online freelancing jobs and the IT-BPM industry for the countryside, as well as a workshop for 25 IDP scholars on social media marketing and advertising technical training.
The residents and rebel returnees in Butig, Lanao del Sur have availed of the different government services and programs during the Kumpas Barangay: Information-Serbisyo Caravan from various government line agencies.
The Department of Public Works and Highways’ contractors, in charge of the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Banggolo, Mapandi, and Pumping bridges, have also started reconstructing 18.97 km. of the Transcentral Roads, with funding from the Official Development Assistance of the government of Japan for the war-torn city.
9. CABLING: Cavite subdivision for informal settler families (ISF) along PNR Manila-Laguna railway.
This is what the Duterte administration, through the Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC), is offering to some 12,000 families living along railways from Manila to Laguna.
Atty. Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, SHFC president, told Daily Tribune that the agency was tapped by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) as partner in relocating informal settler families (ISF) living along the Philippine National Railway’s (PNR) Tutuban-Calamba route.
Cabling said SHFC already found the land to develop subdivision-like communities in Tanza, Cavite acquired for the ISF who will be affected by the PNR project.
He stressed that the effort to relocate the 11,000 to 12,000 families is a whole-of-government program, citing the SHFC was able to acquire the land in Tanza from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
“Here, we see the various government agencies working together to provide better living conditions to the affected ISF,” Cabling said.
“On our part, the SHFC was tapped by the DoTr because of our past experiences in building communities for victims of typhoon ‘Ondoy.’ The DoTr is engaging our partnership to relocate those living along the Tutuban-Calamba route,” he added.
Cabling said the SHFC has already paid 20 percent of the total cost of the Tanza property to BSP two weeks ago.
“They (DoTr) had downloaded money to us. We are already starting it,” he said.
SHFC model horizontal homes have a 24-square meter floor area with provisions for a loft and cost only P580,000. The loan is subject to only six percent annual interest, payable up to 25 years.
Cabling said coordination with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which is funding the Tutuban-Calamba section of the project, has started.
He said the SHFC had organized the affected ISF down to the barangay level to engage the families from the planning stage up.
The official explained that it has been the practice of SHFC to involve the ISF themselves in all stages of the relocation project.
“We are not only building homes. SHFC is building communities — resilient and sustainable communities. We have a livelihood component,” Cabling said.
“We engage them (ISF) from the very beginning. We plan together as a group. So, they have a voice in undertaking the project,” he added.
As part of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, the DoTr is reviving the PNR via the P777 billion North-South Commuter Railway Systems, one of the big-ticket projects of the current government.
The project is composed of 36 stations traversing various cities and municipalities in Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Calabarzon.
Cabling said the National Housing Authority was tapped to take care of the affected ISF along the north line from Manila to Clark in Pampanga.
In the 1990s, a sitcom entitled “Home Along da Riles,” bannered by the late comedy king Dolphy, was a hit, depicting the daily routine of residents living beside railways, including jolts to their makeshift houses every time a train passes by.
10. SETTLERS SIGN DEAL OVER 16-HA. SOCIALIZED HOUSING PROJECT
Davao Oriental’s housing program will benefit more than 700 homeless residents with the signing of a lease agreement between the residents, the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) and the owner of a 15.6-hectare property.
Provincial Information Officer Karen Lou Deloso said the 746 beneficiaries signed on October 17, the lease agreement with the SHFC funding the land acquisition under its Community Mortgage Program (CMP) .
SHFC, the agency tasked with implementing the government’s socialized housing program for the homeless, is headed by president Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, a lawyer and former member of the Davao City Council.
The lease agreement between SHFC and members of the Mandaya Muslim Bisaya Homeowners Association covers the 15.6-hectare land in Sitio Magay, Barangay Don Martin Marundan, Mati City, where the housing project will rise.
“Prior to the signing, officers from the SHFC explained to the beneficiaries the contents of the agreement,” Deloso said.
Under the agreement, each beneficiary shall pay the monthly rental of PHP369.42 per month, payable for 25 years.
Flordeliza Tabanao, Provincial Housing Coordinator, said that following the signing of the agreement, the SHFC will pay the landowner so that the site development and project construction can begin.
Tabanao said that the provincial government hopes to start the construction next year after meeting all requirements.
Mati City Mayor Michelle Rabat said the project is “a welcome development to address the housing backlog in the city.” (PNA)
11. DAVSUR GOV. CAGAS BRAVES 6.6 MAGNITUDE QUAKE TO SIGN SOCIAL HOUSING DEAL WITH SHFC
Davao del Sur Governor Douglas Cagas did not care if after shocks from two 6plus magnitude earthquakes that rocked Tulonan in nearby Cotabato continue to rock his province and threaten government buildings including the Provincial Capitol.
Gov. Cagas had declared October 30 as “no work day” at the Capitol as engineers check damage to the building. But on the day, the governor had a date with his homeless constituents.
On the day, he was to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) with the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), the government agency tasked with implementing the government’s socialized housing for the homeless Pinoys.
As the specter of another earthquake and more after shocks looms over the province, Gov. Cagas, with his staff and a few Capitol employees, signed the MOU, atop tables hurriedly parked at the Capitol lobby, with SHFC president Atty. Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling.
GOTO DAVAO - LIFE IS HERE 