SENATOR Francis Joseph G. Escudero on Tuesday sponsored a measure creating a subsidized rental housing program for displaced Filipino families.
Mr. Escudero, who chairs the chamber’s Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement, endorsed Senate Bill (SB) No. 2503, or the Rental Housing Subsidy Act, which requires the government to provide underprivileged and homeless Filipinos with temporary housing that helps settle into more permanent homes.
Mr. Escudero emphasized that transitional shelter assistance is urgently needed by millions of Filipinos who lost their homes due to eviction, disasters, or infrastructure projects.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development-Field Office IV-A said in July that 5,611 families in the Calabarzon Region were displaced by heavy rains. A month later, the same office reported that 161 evacuation centers were being used to house more than 7,000 families.
SB No. 2503 will serve as a lifeline for vulnerable families, Mr. Escudero said. “The objective is simple: if we cannot immediately provide a family with a permanent home, we should not leave them without a place to live while they wait,” he said.
Subsidies under the bill are based on current rental rates, a family’s housing needs, and their financial capacity, if it does not exceed the actual rent. These will be delivered through direct rental assistance paid to lessors or rental vouchers for public rental housing.
All subsidies are granted for an initial period of up to three years and are annually renewable until an eligible family secures permanent housing to, they are supported while rebuilding their lives, Mr. Escudero added. — Francessca S. Abalos