CTO refuses to release budget of DWUP

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) head lawyer Collin Rossell lamented that the Cebu City Treasurer’s Office is not be releasing their budget for the year.

Rossell said when he asked for the release of a portion of their P49 million annual budget, he was told that the existence of DWUP should only be dependent on the penalties and interests they collect from the housing beneficiaries.

 “It is so confusing, because we’re supposed to take care of the homeless and underprivileged. But if you we do it the business way, then DWUP was designed to kill them,” Rosell said.

He explained that if their existence should be dependent on their collection, the government is forcing them to impose higher interest rates and penalties to the housing beneficiaries.

Presently, their average monthly collections is P2 million.

Rosell said, it is low because more than half of the beneficiaries have no contract yet. Thus, DWUP cannot collect from them.

Rosell reminded the Treasurer’s Office that the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) specifically states that their existence is to give social services, and not to impose burden on the “government,” with which the homeless and the underprivileged belong.

Of the P500 million that the city spent to purchase lots, only about P150 million has been recovered through monthly collections.

Rossell said there are loopholes in the guidelines and how the housing programs were implemented and his office is fixing the problem.

 The low collection is reportedly the reason the Treasurer’s Office is reminding them that they should get the means to continue their day-to-day operations, he said.

Rossell added that it is also confusing because the city council has condoned penalties of delinquent beneficiaries.

“When you condone, you provide,” Rosell said.  (FREEMAN)