Published July 19, 2019, 5:32 PM
By Jhon Aldrin Casinas

The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11201 that will set into motion the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) was signed Friday.

The law, signed by President Duterte last February 14, primarily consolidates the functions of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) to the Department.

The IRR was signed by HUDCC chairperson Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario, HLURB Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Christopher Lao, Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairperson Alicia Dela Rosa-Bala and Department of Budget and Management Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Janet Abuel.

The ceremonial signing of the IRR was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City on Friday.

Under the IRR, the department shall act as the primary national government entity that will manage the government’s housing, human settlement and urban development programs.

The Department shall be the main planning and policy-making, regulatory, program coordination, and performance monitoring entity for all housing, human settlement and urban development concerns.

Pursuant to the law, the IRR also mandates the reconstitution of the HLURB into the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission, which shall assume and continue the adjudication functions of the regulatory board.

It also provided for the creation of the National Human Settlement Board which shall be the policy-making body and provide policy directions and program development to the attached agencies.

Attached agencies of the DHSUD are the National Housing Authority, the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, Home Development Mutual Fund, and the Social Housing Finance Corporation. Rosario thanked former Negros Occidental Cong. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez and former Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, who were the principal authors of the law in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, respectively.

The law is “the President’s whole-hearted gift” to Filipino families who wish to have their own dream house, Rosario said.

“Now, we can realistically envision and lookout to a new urban agenda for a better, greener, and smarter cities in an inclusive Philippines,” he added.

Rosario said the full realization of the law will commence on Jan. 1, 2020.