JV Ejercito echoes PBBM, urges DHSUD to identify idle lands for housing development
November 28, 2024
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito called on
the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) to identify
idle lands among the country’s urban centers that can host on-site, in-city,
and near-city resettlement and community development.
This echoes President Ferdinand “Bongbong”
Marcos’ proposed executive order that seeks to reserve idle government lands
for housing projects.
The proposal is part of Marcos’ vision of
building around one million housing units per year or about six million houses
by the end of his term.
“Dito sa Metro Manila, magugulat tayo na there
are thousands of hectares (of idle land). Ayun nga lang, some are inhabited by
informal settler families,” he said during the hearing of the Senate Committee
on Housing, which he currently chairs.
“Pero ang pwede nating gawin doon, yung mga
informal settler communities, we can redevelop it,” he said.
Ejercito asked the DHSUD to prioritize the
identification of idle lands in the country’s three most populous metropolitan
areas, namely Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.
Moreover, he said the national government
should avoid using agricultural lands for its housing projects.
“Ayaw na nating mabawasan ang ating mga
productive lands,” Ejercito said.
Housing Undersecretary Avelino Tolentino III
said the DHSUD is still identifying idle lands from the 16,000 hectares of government land listed
in their registry.
The agency is also coordinating with Bacolod Mayor
Alfredo “Albee” Benitez, who was recently elected as the national chairperson
of the League of Cities of the Philippines, to persuade his fellow mayors to
assist in the identification of idle state-owned lands, Tolentino added.
