Government will subsidize house rental expenditures of informal settler families (ISFs) under a bill approved on second reading by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 17.
House Bill 8736 is among the more popular bills in the chamber that was swiftly passed by congressmen.
HB 8736 consolidated seven different legislative proposals separately filed by Reps. Precious Hipolito Castelo (PDP-Laban, Quezon City); Alfred Vargas (PDP-Laban, Quezon City); Rufus Rodriguez (CDI, Cagayan de Oro City); Estrellita B. Suansing (PDP-Laban, Nueva Ecija); Joy Myra Tambunting (NUP, Paranaque City) and Horacio P. Suansing (PDP-Laban, Sultan Kudarat), among other authors.
HB 8736 or the Rental Housing Subsidy Program Act seeks to protect urban poor families from dislocation and eviction due to demolition arising from government projects.
Also to be benefitted are ISF’s who lose their homes due to natural and man-made disasters.
Under the bill, government will extend to eligible ISFs a flat rental subsidy of P3,500 for those living in Metro Manila.
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the National Economic Development Authority are tasked to determine the rate of subsidy for ISFs living in other regions.
To determine the allowable rate, the two agencies will take into consideration the prevailing minimum wage and rental rates per region. However, proposed subsidy will not exceed P3,500.
Qualified beneficiaries are barred from moving back to where they originally lived without the permission of proper government authorities.
They will pay for the portion of the rental fee not covered by the subsidy.
The bill also provides that beneficiaries with good payment standing shall be prioritized as recipients of benefits provided under government housing programs.
“This bill aims to give informal settler beneficiaries access to the formal housing market. Eligible beneficiaries shall receive a rental subsidy to help them have decent living conditions,” said Rodriguez, a deputy speaker.
For her part, Castelo, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, said the measure will allow beneficiaries leave their “dangerous and abject condition and merge with mainstream populace within the city.”
According to Vargas the bill serves as a “housing and social protection program” that will enable ISFs access the formal housing market.”