By Hannah Torregoza The measure seeking to consolidate all housing agencies in one department is awaiting President Duterte’s signature. Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, chair of the Senate urban planning, housing and resettlement, said the proposed creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development was sent to Malacañang on January 16. Senator JV Ejercito (Tony Pionilla / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Once signed into law, the Department will combine the administrative functions of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the planning and regulatory functions of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). “The creation of the department will serve as a response to the problem of divided agencies that is managed only by a council to better address the housing problems of the country,” Ejercito said. Under the proposed Act, the adjudicatory function of the HLURB will be transferred to the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission (HSAC). The National Human Settlements Board will exercise the powers and functions of the attached agencies regarding policy and program development. “The Department will act as the primary national government entity responsible for the management of housing and urban development,” Ejercito explained. “There will be a formulation and implementation of a more coherent and holistic plan for the housing sector,” he added. The reelectionist senator said the Philippines is facing more than two million housing backlogs last year. The figure is projected to balloon to 6,571,387 by the end of 2022. Organized housing Ejercito envisions a housing department that would create the roadmap for housing and urban development, leading its implementation and setting the general direction through each and every project with clear functions, policies, budget and financing. Once passed into law, the Department’s powers and functions include: inventory of idle lands, inventory of housing stocks and list of beneficiaries; and providing technical assistance to provinces, cities and municipalities in building their capability to undertake housing and urban development and management. The Department will be tasked to assist the local government units (LGUs) in the utilization of the socialized housing tax and other sources of funds for housing which shall be exclusively used for new settlement projects. Part of the Department’s mandate is to own and administer government-owned lands, whether owned by the national government or any of its subdivisions, instrumentalities or agencies, including government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCC) and their subsidiaries. The Department will also be tasked to formulate and prescribe land use planning and zoning standards and regulations for the guidance of cities and municipalities; develop and implement a comprehensive plan for the establishment of government centers in the country, among others. It will also be responsible for recommending new legislation and amendments to existing laws as may be necessary and “promote, accredit and regulate the use of indigenous materials and technologies in the housing construction as well as open roads of subdivisions to the public when the general welfare requires it upon consultation with stakeholders,” Ejercito said.