Press Release
July 26, 2016

Drilon bats for new housing and urban dev't department

In order to improve and expedite the implementation of government shelter program, Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin M. Drilon filed Senate Bill No. 232, which seeks to create a "one-stop shop" for the homeless by establishing a full-fledged housing department.

SBN 232 seeks to create the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act, which will be tasked to promote, develop and regulate dependable networks of housing, urban planning and resettlement programs and projects, Drilon said in his bill.

Drilon explained that his SBN 232 or the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act will be a "one-stop shop for the homeless" to make applications for socialized housing more convenient and faster.

"The new department will create Social Housing One-Stop Processing Centers (SHOPCs), which will be responsible for the centralized processing of all housing related permits, clearances and licenses," Drilon said.

If passed into law, the bill will consolidate and abolish the two existing state agencies on housing and urban planning - the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) - under the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Apart from the two, the National Housing Authority (NHA), Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC), National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) and the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) will also be attached to the new department.

Drilon said that the new department will "lessen the burden of the homeless by providing a single entity which can facilitate and housing projects and loans."

"With a singular Department of Housing there would no longer be a need for a housing applicant to go from one agency to another to pursue his or her application," he stressed.

SBN 232 grants the Department of Housing and Urban Development a wide host of powers and authorities to effectively perform its mandate, such as the formulation, operation and enforcement of a national urban development and shelter planning framework and system.

The bill also mandates the department to formulate and implement a shelter program for urban poor communities or informal settler families that will promote their social and economic welfare.

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