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[av_heading heading=’Housing the homeless’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Thursday, January 19, 2017
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TWO MONTHS ago, President Duterte ordered housing officials to complete the distribution of shelters to families hit by super typhoon âYolandaâ in 2013. He observed that only a few people were staying in bunk houses provided by the government three years after the typhoon hit the country. Yes, he was not satisfied with the help given to the typhoon victims.
The truth is that for the past decades, the lack of decent housing remains an issue that warrants government attention because majority of Filipinos cannot afford to have his or her own house. The country needs a more integrated approach in addressing housing needs.
Perhaps the creation of a housing department can make the government better address urbanization and its challenges with greater efficiency and capacitate local government units to effectively respond to the growing needs of urban and rural poor dwellers. We ought to invest properly and strategically. Construction and housing are the key engines of job creation in the country yet it sorely lacks attention.
In the Senate, a bill has been introduced seeking to create the Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD), which aims to address the countryâs housing needs and other related issues through an efficient and holistic national shelter program.
The DHUD will be responsible in shepherding a more coordinated housing effort. It will act as the primary national government entity responsible for the management of housing and urban development. It will also undertake the functions of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the planning and regulatory functions of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.
It is imperative to create a Housing Department that will be at the forefront of the effort to assist in providing homes for our people. Let us help millions of Filipinos find, keep and live in affordable and permanent housing.
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