I would like to thank the officers of the chamber of real estate and builders association and the CREBA Young Members’ Council for giving me the opportunity to address you this evening.

            I believe this is an excellent venue for soliciting support and building stronger ties with our private partners in the housing sector.

            And I also believe this is the appropriate venue to inform our shareholders that we are in the process of revisiting program directions that I would like to implement as Chairman of HUDCC in attaining the goals and objectives of government agencies involved in the shelter sector.

            I cannot emphasize enough the value of a home and what joy and peace it grants to those fortunate to have one.

            In the words of English writer, John Ruskin,

            “This is the true nature of home -- it is the place of peace; the shelter, not only from injury, but from all terror, doubt and division.”

            I hope that his words will serve to inspire us to take on the responsibility of providing our fellow Filipinos the opportunity to have their own homes and live in dignity. I hope his words inspire us to be the people who will move to turn the dreams of many into realities.

            I understand that CREBA has been one of the consistent and reliable partners of HUDCC in the attainment of the goals and objectives of the housing sector. I do look forward to a positive working relationship with your organization, for I am a firm believer that social goals are best achieved through sustained and strong partnerships between government and the private sector.

            In his State of the Nation Address, President Aquino emphasized the importance of such a partnership in addressing the many urgent concerns being faced by our country and our people.

            And our national situation cries out for urgent reform.

            We have a housing backlog of 3.7 million. A great number of Filipinos remain landless and homeless, and poverty has forced many to leave their provinces to seek a better way of life in Metropolitan Manila and in urban centers.

            Sadly, uncontrolled migration to the urban centers severely strains the resources of government, specifically the local governments. This has a negative impact on the effective delivery of basic services not only to informal settlers but to the rest of the communities.

            And while funds have been allocated both at the local and national levels for the relocation of informal settlers, I believe that the time has come for us to closely examine the need to transcend the traditional approach to relocation.

            The government gives the poor houses and lots, yet they are left to fend for themselves; the poor are uprooted and taken to resettlement areas far from their places of livelihood, without the means to sustain themselves.

            Given such conditions, we should not be surprised if most of these relocated settlers abandon their government-given homes and return to the urban centers, where they resume living lives bereft of dignity and decency.

            I believe the time has come to change the approach not only to relocation, but to the divergent but related issues of the housing sector.

            My vision for the housing sector is simple – to provide families not just with the infrastructure of a house, but the framework of a home; to build not just a neighborhood, but a real harmonious community.  

            It is one where informal settlers and marginalized groups can live under their own roofs without the perennial threat of eviction; and where they are energized by their improved economic standing and their freedom to live the lives that they themselves envision. 

            How do we achieve this vision?

            First, we will endeavor to secure the support of the local government units in our housing programs.

            The local governments serve at the frontline of public service. They know the concerns not only of their constituents but of their locality. They are in the best position to provide the inputs we need in ensuring that our housing programs truly address the housing needs of the locality. They are also in the best position to help us achieve our vision of providing not only homes, but houses; of building not just relocation sites, but empowered communities.

            We will begin by providing our LGUs the needed technical and other assistance to be effective partners and implementors of our housing programs at the local level.

            We will closely work with the LGUs to help them utilize their available resources for housing and encourage them to create a functional local housing board.

            We will work hand in hand with them in the preparation of their respective local shelter plans and comprehensive land use plans, and in conducting an inventory of lands including the listing of housing beneficiaries and identifying areas occupied by informal settlers.

            We will involve the LGUs in the localized community mortgage program and the community mortgage program of the social housing finance corporation.

            The LGUs will also play an important role in the resettlement projects of the national housing authority.

            For so long, we have embarked on the relocation or resettlement of informal settlers without factoring in the capacity of the host LGUs to provide public services for the beneficiaries.

            We will therefore look into the adoption of a comprehensive approach to in-city or near-city relocation which will give incentives or assistance to the host LGUs.

            We will also study other options that would allow LGUs to share with the national government the responsibility for addressing the concerns of informal settlers.

            I believe that with all these initiatives involving the LGUs, we will be able to dramatically increase the number of houses and sustainable communities for our people.

            Second, we will develop an investment-friendly business climate for the housing sector and encourage strong private sector support in the implementation of localized housing projects for the poor.

            I am strongly encouraging CREBA - in the same manner that I have urged Gawad Kalinga - to partner with HUDCC as well as the host LGUs in developing undeveloped proclaimed housing sites. These sites will then be the venues for compliance with your balanced housing requirements.

            Third, we will strive to reduce red tape in the processing of housing loans, registration and issuance of land titles, and housing permits both at the national and local levels.

            We also need to be sensitive to the needs of our poor beneficiaries and clients by simplifying the procedures for processing applications and documents.

            I am aware that CREBA has been our partner in introducing policy reforms in the issuance of housing permits and licenses.  Once again I call upon you to help us review and simplify our existing processes with the end in view of making them more accessible to the end-users and more transparent.

            Fourth, we will talk to the bureau of internal revenue and get their support for our plan to grant capital gains exemption credits to donors of houses in housing projects of Gawad Kalinga, Habitat for Humanity and other NGOs. This is the approach we took in Makati where we incentivized the participation of the private sector in our housing program by providing them with tax breaks commensurate to the level of their participation. I have always maintained that if it can be done in Makati, it can be done nationwide.

            Fifth, we will rationalize the housing finance and subsidy framework for housing and urban development. It will be a priority of HUDCC under my stewardship to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing system of on end-buyer financing, development financing, the guarantee system, the secondary mortgage market, the community mortgage program and micro housing program financing. We strongly urge CREBA to actively participate in the consultation meetings that we will be calling on these issues.

            We need to explore the option of lowering interest rates to accommodate poor families that simply wish to have their own homes.

            Sixth, we must strengthen the implementation of the asset reform program involving the utilization of idle and underutilized government lands. We will also hasten the issuance of land titles to intended qualified beneficiaries in all housing proclamation projects including relocation sites.

            Seventh, in the interest of good governance and transparency, we will require the publication of all projects and loans granted by the key shelter agencies in the website of the respective agencies.

            This is in response to the president’s call for greater transparency in government. And I intend to make the agencies under HUDCC models of transparency and good governance.

            Let me also emphasize that we will undertake a thorough performance reviews of our partner developers. We will consider incentives and we will impose penalties if warranted. Much has been said about some agencies under HUDCC not acting in the interest of their intended beneficiaries. We intend to find out if there is indeed basis for such comments.

            We will be strict in reviewing and investigating reported irregularities in the shelter sector.

            And lastly, we will be formulating at the soonest time possible a road map for housing and urban development, incorporating these new strategic directions.

            This road map shall be jointly prepared by all the stakeholders in the housing industry. It shall contain the development framework and principles, vision and goals and the strategies needed to achieve the needed policy reforms. And once again, I would like to see the active participation of CREBA in the formulation of our road map.

            Before I conclude, allow me to dwell briefly on the Makati-GK Dreamland Project in San Jose Delmonte, Bulacan.

            In a physical sense, our partnership was able to construct, as of last count, 480 well built, comfortable homes in a community of 3.2 hectares.  

            But Dreamland’s beauty is really beyond the physical. The real change was not in physically transferring the places of residence. The real change occurred in the residents themselves. Now, they have a genuine sense of belonging, and a genuine recognition that the opportunities that were once elusive are within their reach, that the unattainable now seemed possible.

vI am optimistic that with the support of CREBA and all the other stakeholders in the housing industry, we can replicate the Makati-GK partnership throughout the country.

            We can and we will succeed in building homes, and not just houses; in providing lasting opportunities, instead of temporary dole-outs; and transforming our seemingly forgotten human resources into productive members of society.

            Maraming salamat at magandang gabi sa inyong lahat.