Vice President Jejomar C. Binay Wednesday said the provision of housing does not end in merely giving houses to the homeless, but also in ensuring that they have access to basic services.

            "We are one in proclaiming that sustainable housing is not providing accommodation of poor standards, in places that are removed from economic activities and deprived of basic services."

            "Indeed, we share the same conviction that dignified housing is about giving people the means to live decently as well as a fair chance of building a productive life," Binay said during the 4th Asia-Pacific Housing Forum held in Makati.

            The Asia-Pacific Housing Forum is a biennial conference organized by Habitat for Humanity International.

            It convenes public, private and people sector stakeholders engaged in solving poverty housing issues, including policy-makers, urban planners, architects, academics, housing sector developers, NGOs, donor agencies, international organizations, and researchers.

            This year’s theme is “Housing as a Foundation for Breaking the Poverty Cycle.” It has brought together over 1,400 stakeholders from 52 countries since its inception.

            According to the Vice President, the respective experiences of the countries involved in the forum have shown the direct link between housing and poverty.

            "Just as we see how those who have no permanent shelter to call their own struggle to overcome the bonds of poverty, we have seen how living in a safe and decent home truly increases life chances," Binay said.

            "We have experienced and perhaps even quantified this transformational impact on communities, families, and individuals through the work of government agencies and instrumentalities, and through the projects supported by international development organizations, and those run by non-government agencies like Habitat for Humanity," he added.

            He then underscored the importance of collaboration among the public, private, and people sectors in addressing the linked issues of housing and poverty, particularly in pursuing the country’s national housing strategy targeting the provision of one million units of direct housing assistance from 2011 to 2016.

            Binay said that the strategy also involves slum upgrading; shelter planning and disaster risk management; acceleration of mass housing programs through alternative housing technologies; and the integration of basic infrastructure support to resettlement sites.

            "All these, of course, cannot be realized without the involvement of organizations like Habitat for Humanity, the private sector, and other partners in development," he added.

            Binay also said that "governments have an indispensable role in creating an enabling environment for partnerships to thrive and remain healthy, so should private sector respond as building blocks for creating a genuine sense of community."

            He added that partnerships in housing could serve as a "platform upon which other forms of economic and social development may arise."