VP Leni Robredo said backlog in housing units is expected to grow further this year.
Vice President Leonor Leni Robredo said that the backlog in housing units is expected to grow further this year and she even compared it to a “ticking time bomb”.
Robredo, who is also the chairman of Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said that according to the data from the National Housing Authority (NHA), from 2011 to 2016, the number of houses the government needs to provide will shoot up to 5.7 million from the 1.4 million backlog recorded in 2011.
The lady vice president raised the need to have a comprehensive housing roadmap to ensure that no funds are wasted.
“If you divide the projected backlog of 5.7 million by the number of days in 6 years, you will find that we need to build 2,602 homes per day in the next 6 years. And the clock is already ticking,” she said in a speech at the opening of the Housing Congress on Tuesday, August 16.
“We are now finishing a [comprehensive housing roadmap] with the help of the World Bank and the United Nations (UN) Habitat,” she told reporters in Filipino.
In preparing the roadmap, Robredo is pushing for consultation with stakeholders, especially those who will live in the housing units.
“I don’t just mean getting inputs from key shelter agencies and developers. I mean giving the people themselves who are going to occupy the homes a seat at the table,” she said.
She has earlier ordered the HUDCC to create a complete inventory of properties available for housing projects and an updated list of those who are in need of housing.
“Pero iyong sa akin, okay lang na bagalan nang kaunti basta ma-assess muna, kasi baka magsayang tayo ng pera,” the Vice President said.
(For me, it’s fine to move at a slower pace as long as the situation is assessed properly so that we don’t waste money.)
Since Robredo assumed the post of HUDCC chief, she has been visiting communities to consult regarding the development of housing programs.
The Department of Budget and Management has pegged a P12.6-million allocation for the NHA in its proposed budget for 2017, which was submitted to the House of Representatives on Monday, August 15.