Rep. Howard Guintu of party-list Pinuno appealed to the Senate to support House Bill 10772 or the amended Balanced Housing Development Program, which seeks to improve the delivery of socialized housing programs.
Previously, the House of Representatives led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez unanimously approved the bill on third and final reading by a 178-0-0 vote.
“I would like to thank my fellow members for approving the passage of this measure. Once this has been passed into law, our fellow Filipinos who need socialized housing units will benefit from this measure given that we have ensured that local government units shall benefit from housing developments in their respective jurisdictions,” Guintu said.
The vice-chairperson of the Committee on Housing and Urban Development noted that housing developers may develop an area for socialized housing equivalent to at least 15 percent of the total project area or cost for subdivisions or villages and at least five percent of the condominium or vertical housing area or project cost, depending on them.
Developments would be undertaken in the project site or within the city or municipality where the development is situated, according to Guintu.
Suppose the developer pays 15 percent of the total subdivisions or village project cost or five percent of the condominium or vertical housing project cost. In that case, the developer will pay 25 percent to the city or municipal government where the project is located.
Local government units (LGUs) would enjoy a two-year exclusive right to utilize the amount for their socialized housing programs.
The proposed law also includes direct purchase and unsolicited proposals as modes of land acquisition for socialized housing, further simplifying local requirements to fast-track the delivery of housing units.
“As the Marcos Jr. administration seeks to address the housing woes of our country, this measure shall complement the present efforts of the DHSUD (Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development) and our key shelter agencies,” Guintu said.
“There is truly a need to address the current housing backlog in our country, and I commend (Marcos) for setting the direction in addressing the housing backlog. And the passage of this measure in the House shows that the leadership is one with the administration in providing housing settlements to our less fortunate Filipinos,” he added.
