Duterte signs law creating Department of Human Settlements and Urban Devt

PRESIDENT Duterte signed into law the creation of the new Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, which seeks to consolidate all shelter agencies to address the huge housing backlog in the country.

Under Republic Act (RA) 11201 signed by the President last Thursday, the new department is a consolidation of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

The new department shall act as the primary national government entity responsible for the management of housing, human settlement and urban development. It shall also be the sole and main planning and policy-making, regulatory, program coordination and performance monitoring entity for all housing, human settlement and urban development concerns, primarily focusing on the access and the affordability of the basic human needs.

The department shall also develop and adopt a national strategy to immediately address the provision of adequate and affordable housing to all Filipinos and shall ensure the alignment of the policies, programs and projects of all of its attached agencies to facilitate the achievement of this objective.

Moreover, the law also reconstitutes the HLURB into an adjudicatory body called Human Settlements Adjudication Commission, with jurisdiction over all the cases decided by regional adjudicators and the appeals from decisions of local and regional planning and zoning bodies.

The law also stipulates that the department shall also exercise administrative supervision over the National Housing Authority, National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. and Social Housing Finance Corp. Mobile Number Portability Act, Special Protection on Children

THE President also signed into law the Mobile Number Portability Act and the Special Protection on Children in situations of Armed Conflict.

Signed by the President on February 8, Republic Act 11202 seeks to allow mobile phone subscribers to retain— for free— their mobile number even if they switch from one network to another.

Moreover, the law removes the interconnection fees charged to subscribers when calling or texting across different networks.

Mobile-service providers found violating the law will be fined by the National Telecommunications Commission of up to a maximum of P1 million if they fail to implement mobile network portability for the fifth and subsequent instances.

Meanwhile, RA 11188 or special protection on children law was also signed by the President on January 10, said a belated advisory from the Palace. This seeks to “extend protection to children on situations of armed conflict from forms of abuse, violence, neglect, cruelty, discrimination and other conditions prejudicial to their development.“

The state is also mandated to take all feasible measures to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.