Housing stakeholders offer solutions to fill up socialized housing backlog

A group of housing sector stakeholders presented recently to the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) their proposed solutions to address some concerns which are crucial in solving the country’s socialized housing backlog of 5.7 million units.

Representatives from Home Guaranty Corp., Habitat for Humanity, Tulay sa Pag-unlad Inc., and Republic Cement presented five proposals to Marisa Lerias, HUDCC consultant, and Rafael Lopa, senior adviser to the Office of the Vice President.

Among the proposals discussed was an incremental home building package concept that will follow modular construction models to allow a room by room or section by section expansion over time using lightweight but strong materials such as steel frames. The incremental home building package will be matched with appropriate financing schemes from partner microfinance institutions (MFIs).

One option would be incremental construction which could be done in stages. The first phase will be the development of the concrete foundation of the house which will hold the steel frames. Stage two will include the addition of concrete walls to further strengthen the structure. The other option would be modular building, which is suited for typhoon- prone areas, this option includes the construction of a core house made of concrete walls and roofing. Thereafter, the extension of the house will then be constructed using lightweight materials.

Another proposal submitted to the group is the concept of an integrated township for off- site relocation. This integrated township approach not only provide shelter, but it also includes a full range of community services such as livelihood, health, education, peace and order, recreation and church.

Lerias mentioned the plan to develop smaller communities in partnership with MFIs. “We would very much like to pilot community-based building in smaller groups and at the same time I can see the opportunity for partnering with MFIs for this because at the moment, the CMTs work in too big amounts. We can look at the amounts that they can actually take out as a loan,” the HUDCC consultant said, adding that the function of the Socialized Housing Finance Corp. could be mirrored through an MFI.

Lopa expressed his gratitude to the stakeholders for contributing their own ideas in the development of socialized housing solutions. He welcomed the idea of township developments and even mentioned that it’s already part of discussions of the HUDCC with some sectors.

The senior official also talked about the challenge on the part of the government in helping informal settlers.