House OKs bill creating new gov’t housing, urban development body

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a measure seeking to establish a Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development aimed at addressing the basic housing needs and requirements of Filipino families.

Voting 193-6, the chamber approved House Bill 6775 or the proposed Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act.

If created, the new department will be the primary national government body responsible for the management of housing, human settlement and urban development.

It will consolidate the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.

At the same time, the department will be the sole and main planning and policy-making, regulatory, program coordination, and performance monitoring body for all housing, human settlement and urban development concerns.

The department will also be tasked to formulate and adopt a national strategy to swiftly provide adequate and affordable housing to all Filipinos, ensuring that policies, programs and projects of all its attached agencies will be towards achieving this objective.

A secretary, four undersecretaries and four assistant secretaries to be appointed by the President will head the department.

It will also exercise administrative supervision over the National Housing Authority, Home Guaranty Corporation, National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, Home Development Mutual Fund and Social Housing Finance Corporation.

The department is also mandated to create socialized Housing One-Stop Processing Centers in the regions, tasked to centralize the processing and issuance of all required housing-related permits, clearances and licenses. —KBK, GMA News