DAVAO CITY — Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon has called on directly concerned government agencies to streamline social housing community schemes if they truly want to reach out to millions of homeless Filipinos.
Malanyaon said it is good news for the local government units (LGUs) to hear on the availability of huge funds set aside for housing, and the current thrust of Vice President Jejomar Binay as head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to empower the LGUS as front liners in delivering housing services.
Malanyaon, however, lamented the bureaucratic red tape in the processing of social housing applications and voluminous requirements derailing the implementation of socialized housing projects in the communities.
She said there is no clear cut policy on the processing of documents in which the concerned LGUs have to travel to and fro to Manila to follow up from one requirement to another.
"I mean, it's not easy to be travelling back and forth to Manila to follow-up for each requirement every now and then. Yes, there are available funds and services, but the requirements and processing to have access to these housing windows are very stringent," Malanyaon said.
She asked the concerned housing officials present at the 4th Pabahay Caravan in Davao City recently if they can find a way to impose a timeframe in both the compliance of the requirements and processing as well as the streamlining of the number of requirements to speed up the release of funds to be able to immediately start a housing project.
Malanyaon further lamented that the provincial government of Davao Oriental, in one of its social housing projects, had to shell out fund in lieu of the delayed release of the fund from the national government.
Maria Ana Oliveros, president of the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), for her part acknowledged Malanyaon's point even as she confirmed that SHFC has already trimmed down its requirements to ensure LGUs of easy access to housing programs.
"Nagbawas na kami ng mga document like road-right-of-way, although meron pang iba that are currently being pursued," she said.
PagIBIG Fund or Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) president, lawyer Darlene Berberabe, said LGUs need not use their own funds for socialized housing programs as HDMF has allotted P20 million for the first phase of each community housing project.
National Housing Authority (NHA) assistant general manager Froilan Kampitan noted the issues raised by Malanyaon even as he assured to try to unlock specific measures to make housing window opportunities more accessible to the LGUs. (PNA)
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