SHFC Highlights Community-Driven Housing In Aklan Forum

SHFC Highlights Community-

Driven Housing In Aklan Forum

SHFC President Ma. Ana Oliveros answering questions from the audience in a Community-Driven Shelter and Livelihood (CDSL) forum held in Kalibo, Aklan on May 21-22. With Oliveros in the panel are Asst. Sec. Gina dela Cruz from the Office of the President, Kate Landry of Build Change, and UN Habitat Philippines Project Manager Warren Ubongen.

As a key shelter agency that promotes community-driven housing, the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) has shared its expertise and experience on Community-Driven Shelter and Livelihood (CDSL) before the local officials of Aklan who are planning to adopt the same approach in their rehabilitation projects.

In a conference organized by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR), SHFC Vice President for Loan Processing Group – VisMin Atty. Rosalie Taguian discussed the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) and the High Density Housing (HDH) Program, which both promote a community-driven approach. Taguian showed video clips of some of the success stories of these programs,particularly the Yolanda-hit Brigham Estate Homeowners Association (HOA) in Tacloban City, which obtained a total loan amounting to P32,622,222.01 that was used to purchase their relocation land.

The Brigham Estate HOA chose the land where they want to rebuild their lives, away from their original site, which is now declared a “no build zone” by the government. 

Taguian also noted that the UN Habitat was able to rebuild 660 disaster-resilient houses in Roxas City, Capiz because security of land tenure is not a problem.

In an open forum, SHFC President Ma. Ana Oliveros stressed that SHFC programs can generate jobs because the community plays the biggest role in the housing project. The SHFC programs, especially the HDH, create disaster-free communities by relocating the informal settler families from the danger zones to a safer site within the city.

Aklan was one of the hardly-hit by super typhoon Yolanda in November 2013. According to the data from the Aklan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the damage reached P2.67 billion, with 200,000 families left homeless. 

Although OPARR has allocated a total budget of P626 million for the reconstruction of 1,763 housing units, the actual construction of the majority of the housing units have not yet commenced due to land concerns.

Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores said that the provincial government is looking for a possibility of pushing the CDSL approach to fast-track the construction of the houses. 

“If we go with the usual process where the terms of the contractor are always considered, the construction of these houses might take years,” Miraflores added.

Through the CDSL, communities follow a process to prepare them for relocation to ensure tenancy in the granted housing units. Miraflores will convene all the town mayors to talk about the implementation of the CDSL approach in their respective municipalities.

Meanwhile, the SHFC has opened its doors on a possible partnership with the provincial government especially in providing security of land tenure to Aklanons. /MP