House OKs on 2nd reading bill on on-site, in-city resettlement for informal settler families

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill prioritizing on-site and in-city resettlement government programs for informal settler families (ISFs) anchored on people’s plans.

This developed after the House, via a voice vote, approved House Bill 5, which also provides that near-city and off-city resettlements for ISFs will only be considered if on-site and in-city resettlements are not feasible.

Under the bill, the on-site, in-city, near-city and off-city resettlement program for ISFs will be primarily led by the local government unit (LGU) and will be implemented jointly with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

Specifically, the measure mandates LGUs to encourage ISFs affected by a resettlement or relocation program to organize themselves into a beneficiary association for accreditation as beneficiaries or awardees of ownership rights.

In addition, each accredited ISF association is mandated to formulate a "People's Plan" in consultation with the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor and in coordination with the implementing LGU. This will include a Relocation Action Plan formulated with the assistance of civil society organizations and concerned government agencies.

Basic services, jobs

The bill also states that resettlement programs should provide ISFs with access to basic services and employment opportunities in case on-site resettlement cannot be undertaken.

The measure also allows LGUs to purchase land outside its jurisdiction for resettlement purposes, as well as negotiate with private landowners for the purchase of the land being occupied by the ISFs and to resort to expropriation should negotiations fail.

Lastly, the bill mandates LGUs and government agencies to provide other basic services and facilities, such as livelihood programs, that are necessary to ensure the well-being of the beneficiaries being relocated. The fine print for this should be specified in a memorandum of agreement with the recipient local government unit where the resettlement site is located.

“This will improve informal settlements from being areas of abject poverty, social exclusion, unsafe housing, and underdevelopment into communities with enhanced physical living conditions and improved quality of life which are fully integrated into a local government unit's physical and socioeconomic fabric and urban governance systems,” the Committee Report on the measure read.

“This is also to ensure the sustainability and viability of resettlement projects for informal settler families (ISFs), as well as empower ISFs by making them active partners of the government in the planning and management of their own resettlement to ensure that the plans thereon reflect and uphold their shelter needs and aspirations,” the Committee Report added.

The bill covers ISFs or households living in a lot, whether private or public, without the consent of the property owner; or those without legal claim over the property they are occupying; or those living in danger areas such as esteros, railroad tracks, garbage dumps, riverbanks, shorelines, and waterways, as defined in Republic Act 11201 which created the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act and without discrimination against structure owning and renting residents.

Ultimately, the bill provides that a People’s Plan for the resettlement program made in consultation with government and non-government actors, should be finished within a period of six months to one year.

The authors of the measure include House Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte, Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of ACT Teachers party-list, Joey Salceda of Albay, Jocelyn Limkaichong of Dumaguete, Arlene Brosas of Gabriela party-list, Raoul Manuel of Kabataan party-list, Michael Romero of 1-PACMAN party-list, among others. — BM, GMA Integrated News