Housing and Social Services

23 February 2009

Quick stats on:

• Social Welfare Indicators
• Senior Citizens in QC
• Number of Urban Poor Families
• Family Beneficiaries of Urban Poor Projects
• Non-government and People's Organizations in QC
  

Shelter for the homeless

Providing indigent city residents with a roof over their heads is another component of the Belmonte administration’s efforts at improving the plight of the poor. The City’s informal settler population, as well as low income government employees who cannot afford to buy their homes, are the main target beneficiaries of the City’s housing programs.

Through the help of the Urban Poor Affairs Office (UPAO), the Housing and Urban renewal Authority (HURA), the Subdivision Administration Unit (SAU), and the City’s shelter partners, close to 12,000 families have now been assisted to have decent dwelling units, or to be relocated back to their home provinces. Quezon City has also provided infrastructure and other support to projects of various private initiatives such as the Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity.

HURA is a pioneering local government housing initiative in this country. By formaing a corporation, the City government is able to act as a housing developer as well, transforming communities and constructing dwelling units, to be able to provide them at rates lower than those available in the market. HURA’s main target beneficiaries are low-income government employees. So far, 480 dwelling units in six medium-rise residential buildings have been provided by HURA, in two barangays, Barangay Escopa III and Barangay Vasra.

The UPAO has identified some 219,380 informal settler families in Quezon City. They are the focus of the City’s socialized housing schemes through community mortgage and direct sale programs. The implementation of these programs is geared toward the legalization of security of land tenure of informal settlers. Also part of UPAO’s mandate is to provide financial and goods assistance to affected families during relocation operations.

Some 14,300 families have already benefited from the City’s shelter strategies. Community mortgage programs (CMPs) of lands have provided security to 4,354 families, while direct sale of property has benefited 3,299 families. Relocation operations have assisted 6,647 families settle outside the metro. A recent housing project, located in Pook Masagana, Bahay Toro, was completed in partnership with Gawad Kalinga in 2008. Seventy families acquired their new 32-sqm units at an affordable amortization rate of P548 a month payable for 25 years.

Another unit participating in the City government’s efforts to distribute land to the landless is the Subdivision Administration Unit. Through legislative backing, SAU implements CMPs that are approved by the City Council in compliance with batas Pambansa 220 which provides for the standards for socialized housing projects. SAU reports 2,447 beneficiaries of the CMP in 2007 as mandated by BP 220.