Urban poor group calls for gov't consultations with informal settlers on housing projects

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 11) — Urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) urged officials to hold consultations with informal settler families, citing the supposedly large number of unoccupied units under government housing projects.

«Walang nakatira kasi ayaw nga tirhan ng mga tao kahit sila 'yung mga benepisyaryo dahil malayo sa trabaho,» Kadamay Secretary General Mimi Doringo said.

[Translation: Nobody wants to live there because beneficiaries don't want to live in a place far from work.]

For the housing projects to be sustainable, Doringo said the government should listen to the needs of the poor and include them in decision making.

Government agencies recently announced they are constructing 170,000 housing units for in-city relocation with monthly payments to be set at ₱5,000 or below.

[READ: 170,000 housing units for informal settler families under construction]

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos emphasized the need to keep the relocation sites close to, if not in the original living areas of beneficiaries with in-city relocation.

But Kadamay is calling for on-site relocation, instead of in-city relocation, to ensure that informal settler families' livelihoods and studies are not interrupted by the move.

The group also called for the removal of interest and penalty fees in monthly payments.

"'Yung pinakamatindi kasi doon 'yung interest at penalty 'pag 'di ka nakakabayad regularly kaya talagang nagpapatong-patong," Doringo said.

[Translation: The worst part is the interest and penalty when you don't pay regularly, so it really piles up.]

According to Doringo, some beneficiaries simply go back to being homeless due to the cancellation of their units as a result of debt that has piled up.

An estimated 6.8 million people were in need of housing from 2017 to 2022, according to the National Economic and Development Authority. But Kadamay expects the housing backlog to balloon to over 12 million by 2028.

«Kahit 'yung sinasabi ng pamahalaan natin na datos na 6.8 [million], sa tingin namin, mas malaki pa talaga diyan 'yung datos dahil nga nito lang mga taon, ang daming manggagawang nawalan ng trabaho, 'di ba? Bago noon,