Lawmaker wants low rent housing program for poor, elderly
Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to determine whether a community housing project in Guangzhou City in China can be replicated in the country to answer the needs of less fortunate Filipinos.
Marcos, chairperson of the Senate committee on urban planning, housing and resettlement, has cited how the low rent housing project in Guangzhou City gives “a complete community life” to residents. It caters to the poor, disabled and elderly.
Marcos made the assessment after visiting the project located at the center of the city in Guandong province, noting that the shelter clusters had a community center to provide for the social needs of the residents.
“The way the project was designed showed the transition from the mainstream to the disenfranchised, focusing on the services needed by the elderly and the young, the poor, as well as the sick and the disabled, to include the services of a medical doctor and even lawyers,” he said in a statement.
The low rent housing project caters to the lower-income sector of Guangzhou. It is composed of both high and medium rise building clusters with each unit measuring an approximately 40 square meter living area, a separate bedroom, dressing room, a kitchen, and a toilet.
Marcos said the Guangzhou project “clearly indicated that the project was not only shelter-based but also focused on providing a total community life.”
Marcos is currently in China on a fiveday official trip (May 31-June 4) to attend the June 3-4 “China-Southeast Asia People’s High-Level Dialogue” in the City of Nanning upon the invitation of the China NGO Network for International Exchanges (CNIE) based in Beijing and Guangzhou.
He visited the residence of Chen Linzhen, a disabled elderly woman, who warmly welcomed him to her unit. She requested to be photographed with the senator and asked for his autographed message on her guest book.
During his visit to the housing project, the senator also observed the strong spirit of volunteerism among students who render services to the residents of the shelter project for a low compensation and subsidy from the government. For their work, the students also earn school or academic credits. —