DHSUD starts inventory of gov’t-owned lands suitable for mass housing

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) will soon start the inventory of all the available governmentowned lands that could be converted to mass housing in a bid to address the more than 6.5 million backlogs in housing for Informal Settler Families (ISFS) and low-income earners.

This, after the national government promulgated the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Executive Order (EO) 34 that declared 4PH as flagship program and called for the inventory of government idle lands appropriate for housing.

DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said the IRR promulgation will pave the way for a faster and more systematic way of constructing affordable but decent mass housing, particularly on the goal of producing more in-city, and on-site housing projects.

“The promulgation of the IRR assures the continuity of the mass housing because it specifies the roles that each government agencies must do to ensure the success of the program,” said Acuzar.

The IRR detailed the roles that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Land Registration Authority (LRA) will have under the accelerated housing thrust.

Under the IRR, DHSUD will head the requirement and collection of the detailed inventory of all available and suitable lands for housing and human settlements from national government agencies, governmentowned and -controlled corporations, and local government units (LGU).

The DENR, on the other hand, will provide the DHSUD with all available inventories or data on patrimonial properties, public and government lands, proclamations and reservations and relevant cadastral maps for inventory purposes.

The DILG, meanwhile, will support the DHSUD in coordinating with and mobilizing the LGUS for the implementation of the IRR.

On the part of the LRA, it will assist the involved agencies and entities in the preparation of their inventories by validating the list of titles that are registered in the name of the said agencies and entities.

The IRR, according to Acuzar, also outlines the provisions for the licit and appropriate processes in land identification and inventory; issuance of certified true copies of land titles; acquisition of identified lands; compliance monitoring; manpower and resources; and project conceptualization, development and implementation.