Published April 27, 2017, 12:08 AM
by Ben Rosario

Congress will have to exercise its oversight powers to redirect government’s unsatisfactory housing and urban development program that is further threatened by the effects of the so-called Kadamay takeover of housing projects in Bulacan.

Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez lamented that while a P5-billion annual funding for socialize housing may not be sufficient to address the overall needs of the country, the money appeared to have been directed to implement housing projects that appear to have few takers.

Benitez, chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, called for the execution of an urban renewal program that would have in-city, near-city housing for the thousands of informal settler families, noting that government can address the huge housing backlog by merely allocating 30 percent of idle lands for the homeless.

Benitez, who led an inspection of the AFP-PNP-BJMP-BuCor housing in Pandi, warned that unless a swift review and redirection of the housing programs is pursued by government, the possibility of the collapse of its human settlement projects could be imminent.

He noted that the National Housing Authority (NHA) has complained that its measly 30 percent collection of amortization of housing units has dwindled further to just 15 percent.

Benitez agreed with the observation of NHA and other housing program leaders that the Kadamay takeover of government housing project in Pandi and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, may have triggered the weak collection.

“This occupation of Kadamay unraveled a lot of issues about the country’s housing sector, which we didn’t pay attention to in the past years,” the senior administration lawmaker said.

Together with Senator JV Ejercito, head of the Senate housing panel, Benitez led the inspection of the Pandi housing units now occupied by Kadamay members following a forced takeover last month.

Reacting to what he inspected, Benitez told reporters that a “mismatch” between the NHA housing projects and the other settlements of the beneficiaries was glaring.

“What’s very concerning is that we keep on producing housing units that are not really acceptable to the beneficiaries or are lacking in the basic services,” Benitez said.

This could be the reason the real beneficiaries of the housing projects, the men in uniform, appeared disinterested in taking advantage of the cheap housing units.

The 21- or 28- square meter row houses still lacked basic necessities like water and electricity connection.

Benitez said the requirements should be addressed immediately by the NHA.

However, the Negros Occidental solon stressed that only occupants or applicants who are qualified under the NHA standards should be allowed to own the units.