Cutie, Tom urged to set aside PDAF for housing

CEBU, Philippines – Cebu City Councilor Alvin Dizon is asking the two House Representatives of the city to set aside P10 million each every year from their Priority Development Assistance Fund for the construction of three-storey medium-rise buildings for the informal settlers.

Dizon, chairman of the City Council's Committee on Housing, said the amount will solve the problem of resources in the implementation of housing projects for the underprivileged residents of the city.

According to Dizon, our country is one of the signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and he believes that providing decent housing to these residents is a right the government is bound to uphold.

Dizon said that the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides that the state shall undertake, in cooperation with the private sector, a continuing program of urban poor and housing which will make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens.

He added that Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act and the Local Government Code also authorized the government to initiate concrete actions to address the right to adequate housing of the Filipinos.

Dizon believes that South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña and North District Rep. Cutie del Mar are the answers to the problem.

There are about 20,000 families in Cebu City who do not have a house of their own. Although there are already developers who offer low cost housing but still these families are not able to take advantage of it because of financial problem.

The local government unit also lacks funds to undertake a comprehensive socialized housing program to address the housing needs of its poor and marginalized constituents. (FREEMAN)