Tuesday, February 26, 2019
BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN

Rep. Alfredo Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District), chair of the House committee on Housing and Urban Planning, yesterday defended the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, that is being questioned by former President Benigno Aquino III, stressing that it aims to address the big problem of lack housing in the country.

Benitez asked what Aquino was complaining about, the department or its name?

Aquino, who spoke at the commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of the People Power Revolution on Feb. 23 at the Edsa Shrine in Quezon City, said that some of the government’s recent proposals, including the creation of the Human Settlement department, reminded him of the Marcos regime.

“It seems were going back to the ways of the regime we fought in the dark days of martial law. Now it seems we are taking a detour. It’s up to us if we keep going deeper into this detour,” Aquino said, referring to the recent creation of the Department of Human Settlements, which, during the Marcos era, was called the Ministry of Human Settlements, headed by then-first lady Imelda Marcos.

Jose Conrado “Jolly” Benitez, father of Rep. Benitez, also used to be the deputy minister of Human Settlements.

Rep. Benitez said there is a huge problem of housing all over the country, including Negros Occidental.

Why are they complaining about the creation of a department, that will provide a good housing program? he asked.

What would he like to do, change the name from Department of Human Settlement to Department of Inhuman Settlement? Benitez further asked, as he recalled that the beneficiaries of previous housing programs were being relocated from what others call “danger zone to death zone”.

This is because the housing relocation sites are far from work, school, hospital and basic needs, Benitez, who sponsored the bill for the creation of Human Settlements department in the House of Representative, said.

Benitez said the new department will bring back the old housing programs, citing the successful BLISS (Bagong Lipunan (New Society) Improvement of Sites and Services) program in Silay City and other areas of the country, which until now are remembered by the Filipino people.

That is the program that we want to resurrect, he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed a law creating the Human Settlements and Urban Development department that seeks to consolidate all housing agencies of the government, including the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.

But Duterte has yet to name the DHSUD secretary.

The new department will be in charge of planning and policymaking, regulations, program coordination and performance monitoring for housing and urban development concerns.

It’s about time that we have a full-Pledged department that will focus on housing, Benitez said, noting that the comprehensive housing program got lost, after the Ministry of Human Settlement was abolished by previous administrations.

Before, the middle income family can afford to buy a house, but no longer today, Benitez said, adding that there is a surge in the prices of land in urban centers, compared to salary hikes.

“We are being reduced to a country of renters, he added.

“We want the people to have their own houses, so that they can pass them on to their children, or make an investment, That will not happen unless we create affordable housing projects,” Benitez said.*