Thank you for the kind words. Tonight, we gather in the cause of human development. In talking of development, matters of housing carry great weight and are considered pivotal to the success of our nation’s entire development agenda. Even through the lens of world history, progress is given the chance to take root when populations shift from a nomadic way of life to settlements. Ito po ang dahilan kung bakit ang pabahay ay isa sa mga pangunahing programa ng ating pamahalaan.
The right to adequate housing, defined as the right to live somewhere in security, peace and dignity, is a universally acknowledged right. But as with many rights, ensuring that it is upheld and respected is a task that governments and citizenries work hard to achieve. Against the vast canvass of a plethora of economic concerns, it can be drowned by the hues of current trends and breaking news. Yet, the flurry of political and economic concerns can never diminish the importance that housing possesses if the journey from poverty to progress is to be completed promptly.
The scope of this challenge is beyond what government alone can address. Surely, the climate that government creates through proper policy and sound funding can spell the difference between setting the field on fire and extinguishing hope. However, it is the participation of other sectors that give flesh to this backbone and allow strength to build.
Along this front, Habitat for Humanity has done much to slake nation’s thirst for dignified housing. Just as we seek to create communities, habitat goes beyond building mere shelters and labors to create sustainable communities to uplift Filipino families. The “I Build" campaign in particular has met with the warmest receptions if not admirable success, and the seeds for healthy and vibrant communities have flourished because of this movement.
This common enterprise, the uplifting of lives, is not just an advocacy we champion in our terms of office. It is a way of life that we wish to see embraced by all men for all time, and recent events show us how important it is for us to see this enterprise succeed.
Kamakailan lang po ay sinalanta tayo ng matinding pag-ulan at pagbaha. Bagamat humupa na ang baha sa Kamaynilaan, napakarami pa po sa ating mga kababayan ang nagdurusa. Noong mga nakaraang araw, bumisita kami sa mga resettlement area sa Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite at Metro Manila upang magbigay ng kaunting tulong sa ating mga kababayan at para na rin inspeksyunin ang kalagayan ng ating mga resettlement areas. Sa aming pagdalaw, aming napagtanto ang mga leksyong hatid ng nakaraang krisis.
The massive floods in Metro Manila and nearby provinces clearly, if not coldly, push us to fast-track urban development policies that are sustainable against the realities of climate change. These also challenge those of us in government, whether in national or local levels, to be pro-active and to ensure that laws and directives on land use are strictly enforced. We cannot change the elements by executive order or legislative decree, but we can always take prudent steps to safeguard our countrymen and mitigate the impact of calamities and disasters.
As we move towards this goal, I would like to remind our shelter agencies to strictly enforce rules that require developers to obtain the proper clearances from the mines and geo-hazards bureau before starting housing projects. These clearances are required especially for housing projects that are near waterways. These also ensure climate change adaptability in planning for sustainable communities so as to mitigate disasters.
This is only one of the housing sector’s initiatives to include climate change response actions in national and local government land use policies. Another of our programs is the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board’s Zero Backlog Program, which aims to complete updating the Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUP) of all local government units by 2013. The CLUPs of the various LGUs will incorporate climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction measures as well as identify safe residential areas.
In assisting our local government units with their CLUPs, we help them with profiling the population that is exposed and vulnerable to hazards. We can also help them identify and map hazards within the LGU such as fault lines and flood prone areas. From this, the LGUs can determine and understand the potential threats facing the community. This includes hazard characterization based on past records, how often they might occur, how many families will be affected and the estimated cost of damages.
As we move towards safer cities and towns, we implore all local government units to show political will so that structures are not erected in non-buildable areas and danger zones. We cannot waver in our resolve as many people remain situated in hazardous areas. In Metro Manila alone, we have 580,000 informal settler families, of which 104,000 are living along rivers and waterways considered as danger zones. With these realities, the government and the private sector must act with dispatch to accelerate the construction of medium-rise buildings and new town settlements so that informal settlers in danger zones can be given a decent chance to live safely and productively.
This is a formidable task and we have the great honor of being called to see this job through together. I am privileged to work not just with the dedicated servants in the key shelter agencies but with visionary organizations such as habitat. I am therefore pleased and inspired by tonight’s celebrations. As we launch this book, appropriately titled “I Build My Philippines,” let us gain new light and strength from the tales enshrined in its pages. Let us, most especially the young leaders who, one day, shall hold the reins of office, find a renewed inspiration in the beauty of vision 2020.
I look forward to reading this timely work of literature and you can be sure that I shall urge others to do the same. I thank Habitat for Humanity for wisely undertaking this project, and I eagerly await the other endeavors where we can work together so that our housing challenges can find lasting resolution.
Congratulations to all, and I wish you nothing but success.
Maraming salamat. Mabuhay tayong lahat!