Dignifying farmers with BALAI Housing program

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) have converged with other government agencies, particularly local government units (LGUs), to pay tribute to our farmers by providing them access to decent and affordable housing units on subdivision-like development sites.

The BALAI Farmers Housing Program—anchored on DHSUD’s BALAI concept of “Building Adequate, Livable, Affordable and Inclusive Filipino Communities”—is a housing program for agrarian reform beneficiaries as embodied in the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) that DHSUD and DAR recently signed with 19 LGUs.

The LGUs, led by the province of Camarines Sur, are set to benefit from the MOUs signed during the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) last June 10. This is provided that the LGUs have met all the requirements to qualify for the program, including having a Comprehensive Land Use Plan and a Local Shelter Plan.

Actually, it’s not the first time that DHSUD and DAR joined hands for our farmers. Last December, we rolled out a farmers’ housing project in Umingan, Pangasinan, and we hope to award the completed housing units to the beneficiaries by the end of this year.

In joining forces with the DAR, DHSUD is not only able to uphold its mandate of capacitating the underprivileged to have a house of their own in coordination with our key shelter agencies (KSAs), but more importantly dignify our unsung heroes—our farmers, who are among the neglected sectors of our society.

Three phases

The implementation of the BALAI Farmers Housing Program consists of three phases—land acquisition, land development and housing construction. Our paramount consideration in choosing sites is proximity to the farmlands of the beneficiaries.

Under the scheme, LGUs shall secure a property for the housing project either by LGU procurement or donation from a private entity. Once a property is obtained, DHSUD will then spearhead land development through the utilization of the balanced housing compliance generated from housing developers.

Housing construction, meanwhile, will be carried out in coordination with DHSUD’s KSAs namely the National Housing Authority, the Home Development Mutual Fund, the Social Housing Finance Corp. and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. LGUs can also tap the private contractors or developers to undertake the housing construction.

With the land acquisition and land development provided as grant or free, beneficiaries will only have to pay for the construction of housing units which our KSAs can finance with low interest rates. Normally, a socialized housing unit is estimated to cost roughly P580,000, but the price is expected to decrease by 30 percent to 40 percent since the lot is provided by the LGU and land development is a grant from DHSUD through the balance housing compliance.

Given the low interest rates offered by KSAs at only 2 percent to 3 percent per year, our target beneficiaries will most likely be capable of paying monthly amortizations for as low as P2,000. It is worth noting that these are housing units inside subdivision-like development sites complete with water and power supplies and other basic necessities.

This convergence effort among national and local government agencies is another solid proof of the Duterte administration’s commitment to assist low-income Filipinos, especially our farmers, in realizing their dreams of having a house of their own.

Morale and dignity

From 2006 to 2015, farmers, along with fishermen, were classified as the poorest sectors of the society with a 34 percent poverty incidence rate, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

During the period, the PSA also found that most agrarian reform beneficiaries tend to either sell or mortgage their land to cope with perennial financial difficulties such as securing food and sending their children to school, as well as paying other bills and expenses.

Hence, pushing for this kind of undertaking will provide not only roofs above our farmers’ heads but more importantly dignity and much-needed morale boost. And in the process, the country’s agricultural sector and national food security are likewise ramped up.

Finally, I would like to end by highlighting the importance of agriculture in nation-building through a quote from Thomas Jefferson who said: “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will, in the end, contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.”