Creation of housing dep’t pushed to address backlog

The country’s largest real estate and housing group has urged the Duterte administration to create a separate department that would address the country’s massive socialized housing backlog, which was estimated to swell to 5.7 million units this year.

The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations Inc. (Creba) said the creation of a Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD), which it has long been proposing, would be able to wipe out the shortfall.

“The backlog couldn’t have risen to this level had Creba’s long-proposed DHUD bill been enacted into law. Only a full-fledged department can consolidate government efforts to attain our national housing goals with a housing secretary clothed with ample powers, functions and corresponding administrative accountabilities implementing a clear and sustainable housing vision,” Creba national president Charlie A.V. Gorayeb explained.

“The DHUD bill has been pending in Congress for more than two decades. Yet, the Constitution underscores the importance of housing and urban development as a basic human need and as a means to improve the life of the people,” Gorayeb added.

It was noted that a study by the Asian Development Bank showed the Philippine government spent only 1 percent of its total budget for housing, reportedly the lowest in Asia.