Paghunasan, Mc Arem C.

18-00314

IRR signed for law on Dept of Human Settlements

The country’s worsening problem of homelessness and lack of access to shelter
opportunities is envisioned to soon be addressed by the government, with the signing on Friday
of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act (RA) 11201, or the
“Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act.”

At a news conference on the sidelines of the signing, Housing and Urban Development
Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Eduardo D. del Rosario said the measure will enable
the estimated 81 percent of Filipinos —especially the unserved and underprivileged citizens—to
be provided housing opportunities.

“This [the Act] was signed on February 14, the day of the heart, because of President
Duterte’s love for the Filipino family. This is the President’s whole-hearted gift to 81 percent of
Filipino families who wish to have a dream house of their own,” del Rosario said.

The IRR consolidates the functions of the HUDCC with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory
Board (HLURB) under the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development
(DHSUD), which was created by RA 11201 to manage housing, human settlements, as well as
urban developments in the country.

“Since 1986, HUDCC and key shelter agencies, through the government’s shelter
delivery system under Executive Order 19 fell short in addressing the country’s housing needs
that is estimated to reach 6.57 million by 2022. And if not appropriately addressed, [it] will
balloon to 22.6 million by 2040,” he added.

The IRR takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two
newspapers of general circulation, with the full implementation slated on January 1, 2020,
following a transition period of about five months from the effectivity of the IRR.

“But HUDCC and the shelter agencies may not solely be blamed for the mounting
housing needs and urban development problems,” del Rosario said. “Year in and year out the
housing sector clamored for a bigger housing budget but unfortunately the housing sector
technically received an average of only less than 1 percent of the country’s annual budget. But
today, recognizing the need for structural changes and additional mandates, the country’s
housing and urban landscape is up to a major transformation,” he said.

The transition period will allow the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and
the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to approve new organizational structures and positions,
and provide time for the transfer of personnel and assets, closing and opening of accounts, and
the establishment of regional offices.

The new organizational structures is being eyed to be completed in September this year,
according to del Rosario.
Paghunasan, Mc Arem C.
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RA 11201 was passed in Congress on November 12, 2018, and signed into law by
President Duterte on February 14 this year. The functions of the DHSUD involve policy-making,
regulatory, as well as monitoring of the environmental land use, and urban planning and
development; housing and real-estate development; and homeowners associations and
community development.

The newly created government agency is tasked to identify government lands suitable
for housing, as well as urban and rural development projects. The identification of government
lands is to be undertaken jointly with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of
the Interior and Local Government (DILG), as well as the Land Registration Authority (LRA).

The law also reconstitutes HLURB into an independent quasi-judicial body called the Human
Settlements Adjudication Commission, with the HSAC performing the HLURB’s adjudicatory
functions over controversies involving real-estate development and sales to expedite the
resolution of these cases.

The law also provides for a National Human Settlements Board (NHSB) to exercise
policy-making powers over corporations attached to the DHSUD.

The regional offices set up by the DHSUD shall be a regional housing one-stop processing
center that aims to streamline the processing of housing-related permits, clearances and
licenses.

The DHSUD is also instructed to manage and oversee emergency post-disaster and
shelter recovery, as well as climate- change adaptation and mitigation risk reduction
interventions.

The IRR was signed by HUDCC Chairman Del Rosario, HLURB CEO Lloyd Christopher
Lao, CSC Chairman Alicia dela Rosa-Bala, and DBM OIC Acting Secretary Janet B. Abuel.
According to the IRR, the HUDCC chairman shall oversee the operations of the DHSUD until a
department secretary is appointed by President Duterte and has assumed office.

Sen. Christopher Lawrence T. Go said in his opening remarks that he has already
submitted the National Housing Development, Production and Financing bill in the Senate as
one of his top bills, to make the dream of housing for every Filipino come true. He noted a 7-
million housing backlog in the Philippines.

“I shall work hard to ensure that all initiatives, policies and plans of the President related
to planning will have the optimum support of the Senate especially when it comes to the
budget…. Naniniwala ako na dapat wala nang squatter dito sa ating bayan at wala nang
pamilyang walang bahay [I believe there should be no squatter in our land, and no family should
be homeless],” Go said.
Paghunasan, Mc Arem C.
18-00314

DHSUD eyes P50B annual housing fund

The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Department of Human Settlements and
Urban Development (DHSUD) Act will be signed by June 15, according to Housing and Urban
Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Eduardo D. del Rosario.

In an interview at the Palace on May 20, Mr. del Rosario told BusinessWorld that the final draft
of the IRR will be signed by the HUDCC, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB),
and other concerned agencies by June 15.

“Nagsimula na kaming gumulong ‘yung (We have started moving along with the) six months
[transition period]. Three months for the completion of the implementing rules and regulations,
so it will be completed and signed by June 15,” he said.

“After that, we will have our organizational structure and staffing pattern para ‘yung (so that the)
different bureaus and regional offices will be defined with their corresponding heads,” he added.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11201, also known as the DHSUD Act,
on Feb. 14. Mr. del Rosario said the HUDCC and the HLURB are now crafting a roadmap for
the new department, which will be operational beginning 2020.

“So it depends now on the budget, we presented our proposed budget for 2020 to the DBM
(Department of Budget and Management),” he said, which “at the moment” will be “about P50
billion a year.”

Most of the budget, he explained, will go to the informal settler families nationwide.

“Those living in areas whose lots are not theirs and those living in hazard areas,” he said.

“We would like to achieve our housing need. They call it backlog, I call it housing need of 6.5
million from 2017 to 2022. In order to achieve that, we need about a minimum of P35 to P40
billion. But the budget for the housing sector for this year alone is only P2.7 billion. How could
we possibly achieve that? So it is very timely that the department is created so that in 2020, we
can possibly scale up,” he said.

Mr. del Rosario also noted that the current housing agencies are drafting a proposed bill to
address the country’s housing needs.

He said the bill is “for the housing production so that there will be an allocation of at least P50
billion a year to construct for over 20-year period… about two million housing units.”

“We are now drafting the proposed bill. Once the next Congress resumes, we will request a
senator or a congressman to sponsor the bill so that we can have a yearly budget allocated for
housing. Because previously, it’s about P30 to P33 billion already. It ran down to P2.7 billion this
year,” he added. — Arjay L. Balinbin
Paghunasan, Mc Arem C.
18-00314

Commentary A

Having this new act formulated by the administration of our President Rodrigo
Duterte was a good step on responding to the current situation of housing and urban
developments in the country. The goal of the formulated was clearly in good terms and
hopefully that this will really work hard to change the current situation of housing and
urban development in the country.

The persons to be assigned in enforcing the Department of Human Settlements

and Urban Development Act must know on how to analyse the current strategies that
tried to solve the problem to avoid doing the same mistakes. They also have to know
the side of the possible users to provide what exactly what are they needing. Not all
people who need the housing have the same problem and need. The approach in
planning must fit to the problem of the place or the community. Satisfactory of the users
may prevent them to leave the provided housing for them because they get exactly what
they need are and their expectations.
Paghunasan, Mc Arem C.
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Commentary B

It is a good thing that all of the current agencies are cooperating with the current
act, because this big problem in housing and urban development in the country cant be
solved by just one agency. They are aiming for the same things so it is really better if
they will help and support each other.

The given budget, which is 50 Billion a year must be distributed and used
properly by the government to support the goal. The regional sector or anyone much in
lower sector must define the problem to the higher department so that they see the
problem in bigger perspective instead they will see in small scale. Through this, even
the smallest detail of the problem will be solved,after solving the smaller problems it will
flow like a domino until they reach the final goal of the act which is solving the problem
on housing and urban development in the whole country.