Binay pushes housing for government workers

MANILA, Philippines –  Vice President Jejomar Binay is pushing for a program that would provide affordable housing for the 1.3 million government employees all over the country.

Binay, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), informed President Aquino in a letter that only a small percentage of the 1.3 million qualified members of the Pag-IBIG Fund and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) have availed of the government’s housing programs because the existing housing options, particularly those in Metro Manila, are not affordable.

Binay told Aquino that while the government has been providing housing opportunities for informal settlers and poor dwellers, many government personnel still do not have homes.

“This housing program would strengthen HUDCC’s existing mandates to provide for institutional or government employees’ housing. This is aligned with HUDCC’s new thrust to assist and guide government agencies and local government units in the conceptualization and implementation of housing projects for their employees and is consistent with our mandate to provide housing for the homeless,” Binay said.

Binay proposed that housing programs should direct all government departments and agencies to establish housing committees and conduct an in-house survey to determine their employees’ housing needs and financial capabilities.

Binay also proposed all government agencies should be required to submit to the HUDCC the list of idle and underutilized government lands for possible housing sites for their employees.

“Utilizing idle government properties for housing would make it easier for government agencies to provide housing for their employees and other qualified beneficiaries,” Binay said.

Binay cited that past proclamations already declared certain government lands as housing sites for specific groups of government employees, such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Off-base Housing, Department of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development Institute Employees Housing, and the New Bilibid Prison Reservation as possible housing sites. 

However, most of the declared housing sites have yet to be deve-loped.