Vice President Jejomar C. Binay recently renewed calls to institute reforms to improve efficiency and ensure effective and honest delivery of housing services to the people.

            Binay, Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), issued a a memorandum to the government’s Key Shelter Agencies (KSAs) directing the submission of a report on the reforms the government have made in eliminating practices of red tape and corruption in their offices.

            “Corruption is an evil that weakens and destroys the trust of the people – the very foundation of a government," the housing czar said. "We are morally bound to institute reforms that would deter opportunities for corruption in every government transaction."

            Moreover, the Vice President also recently created a Transparency and Accountability Group (TAG) within the key shelter agencies to conduct fact-finding investigations on reports of alleged graft and corruption committed by personnel and officers of the shelter agencies.

            “The creation of the TAG would ensure that President Noynoy Aquino’s Daang Matuwid policy will be strictly adhered to by the housing sector," Binay said.

            The group is headed by HUDCC Secretary General Undersecretary Celia S. Alba.

            It will be recalled that Binay’s first directive upon his assumption to office as housing czar was to ensure that clients of the shelter agencies will be served under the principle of good governance and transparency.

            The Vice President’s intensive anti-corruption campaign resulted in the dismissal of some personnel who of the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF or Pag-IBIG) who were found to have been involved in the illegal transactions of a real estate developer Globe Asiatique that apparently victimized innocent homebuyers.

            Under Binay’s guidance, risk analysis and extensive review of expenditure and revenue patterns have been implemented within the KSAs, which resulted in clearer targets and priorities and equitable appropriation of budget.

            “We have made every effort to ensure that the housing sector complies with the anti-corruption policy set by President Noynoy Aquino and the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Anti-Corruption (UNAC)”, Binay said. The Philippines is a signatory to the UNAC, which is observed every December 9th.