Tuesday, September 27, 2016

MANILA, Sept. 27 (PNA) -- A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Tuesday appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to declare as urgent the bill creating a separate department for housing and urban development (DHUD).

In a statement, Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez, who also chairs the House committee on housing and urban development, said the bill is among the top legislative priorities that his committee has identified for immediate deliberation.

"I fully support the call to certify the bill urgent. It will put housing in the same level as education and health — a basic human right," said Benitez.

1Pacman Partylist Rep. Mikee Romero, who authored one of the bills proposing to create the DHUD, joined the call for President Duterte to certify the bill an urgent administration measure, noting that at least a quarter of the country’s population is still homeless.

Romero has filed House Bill No. (HB) 3639, which will unify the functions of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

Moreover, the key shelter agencies such as the National Housing Authority, Home Guaranty Corp., Home Development and Mutual Fund, as well as Social Housing Finance Corp. will be attached to the proposed department.

The partylist lawmaker said that with the integration of the different functions of housing agencies, the proposed DHUD will effectively execute policies addressing the 5.5 million housing backlog, which includes 590,000 informal settler families. (PNA) CVL/FMC/Clariza G. Raquiño (OJT)