Luna Terraces housing beneficiaries bared
The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) clarified that beneficiaries of the local government’s socialized housing program are those that are able to qualify under the guidelines that had been provided by housing agencies.
Assistant City Social Welfare and Development Officer Liza Bulayongan pointed out that nowhere in the prescribed guidelines for the implementation of the socialized housing program that provide that the recipients of the earmarked housing units will be for the rich and employees of the local government as the same are for people who are classified to be members of the vulnerable and marginalized sectors.
He disclosed that the qualifications of the beneficiaries of the local government’s socialized housing program are clearly defined under the pertinent provisions of National Housing Authority (NHA Memorandum Circular No. 2018-030 or the updated guidelines for the implementation of the resettlement assistance program for local government units.
The target beneficiaries of the aforesaid project shall include informal settler families such as families residing in danger areas and in other public places; families who have been displaced by natural calamities and human induced disasters, particularly internal conflicts, fire victims requiring relocation to safe areas; families displaced or to be displaced from sites earmarked for government infrastructure projects and families subject to court orders for demolition and eviction.
The guidelines further provided that the families must qualify as socialized housing beneficiaries as defined pursuant to the pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 7279 or the urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA).
The updated guidelines introduced improvements in the implementation of the aforesaid program that included increase in funding assistance; improvement in development standards, compliance to requirements for local government participation and alignment with gender and development principles and its implementation as prescribed under previous orders that mandated the mainstreaming of gender and development in NHA resettlement program policies, guidelines, activities and projects.
Moreover, the guidelines shall serve as a guide to the local government partners and the NHA operating units in the planning and implementation of the prescribed projects for funding effective in 2019.
Pursuant to NHA Board Resolution No. 5436 dated March 30, 2012, NHA issued Memorandum Circular No. 2427 governing the implementation of the resettlement assistance program for local government units.
The said program was developed pursuant to NHA’s mandate under RA 7279 to provide financial and technical assistance to local government units in the implementation of their urban development and housing programs and in line with NHA’s role as enabler and facilitator in the housing delivery process.
The general policy is geared towards providing financial and technical assistance to local government units in the development of their housing sites for informal settler families requiring relocation and resettlement. – Dexter A. See
