NHA eyes replacing beneficiaries who rent out socialized housing projects

The National Housing Authority (NHA) on Wednesday said it is eyeing the replacement of subsidized housing beneficiaries who are offering their units for lease.

During the Senate urban planning, housing, and resettlement committee hearing Wednesday, NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada pushed for the inclusion of this proposal in the National Housing Authority Act, which serves as the agency’s charter.

“Here in our proposed charter, we are very aggressive to observe the non-payment even as well as the non-occupancy, your honor, particularly the non-occupancy because we feel…that if and when the original beneficiary does not occupy, therefore the actual need of housing is no longer there and henceforth, he no longer he ceased to qualify to a particular government housing,” Escalada said.

The NHA chief said he instructed the cancellation of awards to the original beneficiaries who are earning from the lease of the subsidized housing program.

“Our housing project is only P250, P300, P500 per month and they are renting it out at P3,000 to P4,000 to other persons interested occupying [the units],” he said.

Currently, Escalada said the NHA cannot evict beneficiaries who are not compliant or not paying for the housing units as their current charter does not give them the authority to do so.

“According to the philosophy, the moment NHA evicts, it adds on to the other homelessness in the other side of the gap,” he explained.

Escalada’s statements came after Senator Francis Tolentino, who chairs the committee, asked him about the agency’s policy for beneficiaries who do not occupy the socialized housing units.

Tolentino suggested to the NHA that housing units which remain unoccupied for three years, even if they are fully paid, should be re-awarded to other beneficiaries, then 30 or 40 percent of the payment will be returned to the original recipient.

“We consider this as a public good and as a public good it has to benefit the general public and if it is not occupied even though you consider this a public property, it deviates from the original purpose of benefitting the homeless, ‘yung urban poor na nangangailangan ng bahay [those belonging to the urban poor who really need housing units],” Tolentino said.

“Baka naman may bumili, nag-invest lang, hinihintay yung pagkakataon na ibenta,” he added.

[There might be instances that these units are bought for investments.]

Otherwise, Tolentino said the government is funding these housing projects for nothing.

“I would rather have a housing unit 35-40 square meter which is teaming with people, nandoon na ‘yung mga apo pinakikinabangan because nagamit bilang isang komunidad, kesa naman nakatiwangwang [where we can see people who are with their grandchildren because the housing project is used by the community],” he said.

The committee has tackled three Senate bills on the National Housing Authority Act.

These measures seek to extend the corporate life of the NHA to continue the government’s housing programs.

The bills were filed by Tolentino, Senators Manuel Lapid and Imee Marcos. — BM, GMA News