A LAWMAKER is urging national government agencies to build free housing units for the homeless and poorest residents who cannot even afford subsidized housing programs.
In a privilege speech on Tuesday, 2nd District Councilor Diosdado Angelo R. Mahipus Jr. called on the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), the National Housing Authority (NHA), and other government housing agencies to set aside a portion of their inventory for those with no capacity to pay.
“Spend public funds to provide safe and decent housing for those who have no homes of their own- especially the poorest among our people who have no capacity to pay for the housing programs being offered today,” Mahipus said.
Mahipus raised concern that many families have hoped to own a house and benefit from a housing program but cannot qualify, while other families can qualify but cannot afford the monthly dues.
“If a housing program is intended for the underprivileged and the homeless, then we must honestly ask how accessible it truly is to those it was designed to serve,” he added.
While crediting existing housing programs for giving many Dabawenyo families a sense of security and stability, Mahipus said a critical segment of the population is still being left behind, especially those who do not even bother to apply because they know they cannot pay.
Mahipus argued that housing is not merely an economic or social concern but a matter of human dignity.
“Accessibility must mean that the intended beneficiary can actually benefit from the program,” he said.
As a solution, he proposed allowing qualified beneficiaries to occupy housing units with no amortization and no occupancy costs through a gratuitous usufruct arrangement or a similar government-formulated mechanism.
Mahipus also challenged government agencies to redefine how they measure the success of housing programs, saying the true standard is not the number of units constructed or the amount collected from beneficiaries, but how many homeless families were actually given a home.
He warned that the government cannot present a housing program as a public service while expecting the poor to pay for units costing over a million pesos or while profiting from financing interest.
“Let government housing programs become instruments not merely of financing, but of social justice, human dignity and genuine poverty alleviation,” the councilor stressed.
The privilege speech was approved on first reading and referred to the committee on socialized housing, rural and urban development for appropriate action.
