Socialized housing accreditation, housing for homeless sought

Posted on | Saturday 18 June 2011 | No Comments

by Aileen Refuerzo

Councilor Isabelo Cosalan sought the accreditation of the city government with the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) to enable the city to avail of the Localized Community Mortgaged Program (LCMP) for its housing project.

In a proposed resolution, Cosalan said the city has many homeless residents in need of low-cost housing projects and the city despite several local legislations asking for the implementation of housing projects has not come up with a concrete settlement project due to lack of funds.

“The lack of funding is the primary reason why there has been no city government implemented or completed socialized or mass housing project,” Cosalan said.

He said this can be addressed by the LCMP of the SHFC which is, “… an innovative scheme whereby qualified partner-local government units (LGUs) may apply for an Omnibus Commitment Line (OCL) not exceeding P 50 million.

This is made available through the SHFC to accommodate priority projects identified by the partner-LGUs.
He said the city government, through Mayor Mauricio Domogan, can apply for accreditation with the SHFC to avail of the LCMP.

“The City has to demonstrate its sincerity in uplifting the plight of its poor and homeless constituents by providing access to decent, safe and affordable housing opportunities,” Cosalan said.

The provision housing opportunity for the residents is recognized by the city which in its Comprehensive City Land Use Plan acknowledges that, “Shelter planning is a responsibility of the Local Government Unit … The implementation of low cost housing programs and projects to benefit the underprivileged sector of the population is a primary concern under this sub-sector.”

It is also enshrined in Republic Act 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code and Republic Act 7279 also known as the Urban Development and Housing Act, mandate local government units to implement within their respective jurisdiction programs and projects for low-cost housing and other mass dwellings. (AR-PIO Baguio City/PIA CAR)

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