CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Filipinos desired to be in a position of having a house that they can call their home. A

sturdy, secured, spacious house that could accommodate the whole family and that is accessible

to basic necessities and socio-economic opportunities like schools, hospitals, grocery stores, and

any other establishments that could improve their way of living; and not along danger areas such

as waterways, esteros, under the bridge and railroad tracks (Buban 2015) that could otherwise,

menace their way of living.

At the present time, the Philippines is experiencing an impressive economic growth that

is expected to lead to the development of its institutions including the housing sector. In fact, in

2017, the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects recorded the country’s boosting economy,

which ranked as the 10th fastest economy in the world. A developed housing sector only means

an effective and efficient distribution of housing units to its beneficiaries. In this way, the sector

can uplift their way of living, by providing livable and affordable houses.

Gilles (2012) stated that “a society cannot claim to be harmonious if large sectors of its

residents are deprived of basic needs while other sectors wallow in opulence, if some groups

possess all the resources while others remain impoverished and marginalized.”

The creation of the National Housing Authority (NHA) through the implementation of

the Presidential Decree 757 (P.D. 757) – which is the sole agency in developing and

implementing various housing programs – is a step in solving the country’s housing problems

and alleviating poverty. The implementation of different housing programs is a way to help those
unprivileged to own a house. These housing programs include 1) resettlement, 2) permanent

housing assistance for calamity victims, 3) settlements upgrading, 4) completed housing, 5)

multi-level housing, 6) community-based housing, and 7) technical assistance. The NHA,

through these programs, shall solve the country’s housing problems and shall help the people’s

housing concerns.

The researchers will specifically focus on the Resettlement Program and its aspects on

helping its beneficiaries especially the informal settler families (ISFs). ISFs are group of

inhabitants residing in housing units that were illegally constructed and where housing does not

comply with planning and building regulations to enable a decent quality of life (NISUS, 2014).

Also, ISFs are situated in geographically and environmentally hazardous zone such as major

waterways, creeks, under the bridge, riverbanks and esteros.

Helping ISFs to improve their lives is the responsibility of the state. With the reported

increase in the economy, there are expectations from the government to reduce the number of

ISFs residing in major cities in the country. If does not otherwise, NISUS stated that “informal

settlements in the Philippines reflect the cities’ inability to cope with rapid urbanization which is

spurring economic growth.”

The researchers opted to take this research to dig the causes of housing problems in the

Philippines, and to know what and how the government takes action to this matter. With the

unabated growth of informal settler families and the continuous increase of housing backlog in

the Philippines, the researchers seek to assess the inadequacies of the resettlement program for

informal settler families (ISFs). In a data from Metropolitan Manila Development Authority in

2010, the estimated population of informal settlers had reached up to 2.8 million; some of these

reside in danger zones, such as railroads, canals, rivers and creeks (Buban 2015). Furthermore,
the current projected housing backlog is approximately 5.7 million or over 20 million Filipino

families (average of 5 members per family) have no adequate housing. (Eñano, 2017) Thus, with

the given data, the researchers saw the significance of studying the area in order to come up with

an appropriate solution for the problem.