Housing - Squatting and villages : the competing answers to housing problems in the Philippines

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Cesar Villanueva Cours Metis FUNDP, 29/10/07

• Housing - Squatting and villages the competing
  answers to housing problems in the Philippines
• Philippines
• is an archipelago situated off the southeastern
  coast
• of the Asia Mainland
• 1,707 islands
• 91 million people (estimate for 2007)
• 110 ethnolinguistic groups (languages)
• 85 Christian
• Presidential, unitary form of government
• Member of Association of SE Asian Nations (ASEAN)

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Philippine Population

• Population 83.7 million (2006) 91,077,287
  (July 2007 est.)
• Age structure 0-14 years 34.5 (male
  16,043,257/female 15,415,334)
• 15-64 years 61.3 (male 27,849,584/female
  28,008,293)
• 65 years and over 4.1 (male 1,631,866/female
  2,128,953) (2007 est.)
• Population growth rate 2.36 annually (highest
  in Asia) the countrys population is projected to
  reach 118.4M in 2025 and 147.3M in 2050.
• Birth rate 24.48 births/1,000 population (2007
  est.)
• Death rate 5.36 deaths/1,000 population (2007
  est.)
• Net migration rate -1.48 migrant(s)/1,000
  population (2007 est.)
• Sex ratio at birth 1.05 male(s)/female
• under 15 years 1.041 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years 0.994 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over 0.767 male(s)/female
• total population 0.999 male(s)/female (2007
  est.)
• Population below poverty line 40 (2001 est.)

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Urban Poverty (Geographical Distribution)

• Geographical distribution of urban poverty
  reflects stark inequities in spatial and economic
  development. In 2000 9.7 of families in Metro
  Manila lived in poverty as compared with 39.5
  and 63.9 of urban populations in Central
  Mindanao and Autonomous Region of Muslim
  Mindanao, respectively (NSO).
• Poverty in the Philippine urban areas is evolving
  into a problem as the unabated growth in
  population and the influx of rural dwellers to
  urban areas put pressure on the ability of cities
  to accommodate their social and economic needs.

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Squatting Trends in the Philippines

• Population Growth and Urbanization
• The Philippines is the world's 12th most populous
  country, with a population of over 85 million as
  of 2005.
• The Philippines has one of the highest population
  growth rates in the world at an average of 2.36
  observed in the last eight years.
• Of the total population of 76 million (2003), 40
  million (52) live in urban areas. By 2010, urban
  population is projected to increase to 56 million
  (60).
• Metro Manila (Capital) - is now the 17th among
  the world's population urban agglomerations and
  will rise to the 15th by 2015. (Philippine
  Population Commission)
• at least one third of the Philippines' population
  concentrated in its four towns and 13 cities.
• Where 2/3 of the total population reside and more
  than 50 of its 11 million population live in
  slums or depressed areas.

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Causes of Squatting

• The urban poor live mostly in high-risk areas,
  such as along riverbanks or highly sensitive
  coastal areas,
• canals, railroad tracks, utility corridors and
  watersheds, which are considered high-risk areas.
  The TWG
• data show that in 1999 35 percent of the urban
  population lived in areas where access to
  services is either
• poor or non-existent.
• Together with a rapidly burgeoning population are
  1) growing urbanization, 2) increasing
• urban poverty and 3) worsening economic
  inequity.
• 1) Rapid Urbanization
• Rural population continues to migrate to urban
  areas, primarily to search for better economic
  opportunities.
• One-third of the population can be found in 14
  major cities (UNFPA, 1999), which gives
• the Philippines the highest level and rate of
  urbanization in Southeast Asia (POPCOM, 2000a).

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• 2) Increasing Urban Poverty
• The poor suffer the most from this deterioration
  in the quality of life in urban areas.
• Due to the limited choices available to them, the
  urban poor are forced to locate
• themselves either at the fringes, where access,
  employment, and livelihood
• opportunities are limited, or at the urban core
  where they suffer from
• overcrowding, lack of services, and lack of
  suitable housing.
• The unabated growth in urban population can
  exert environmental, economic, and political
  pressures on urban systems, and the institutions
  that are responsible for them. Social services
  and air and water quality in most urban areas are
  already below the desired levels. Provision of
  education, health, livelihood, housing,
  transportation, and other social and economic
  infrastructure requirements of the 56 million
  people forecast to live in urban areas by 2010
  will become difficult.
• 3) Inequity in social and economic development
• unequal access to economic opportunities, global
  markets and market information,
• disparities in the provision of infrastructure
• inequalities in income.

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General Housing Problems

• The National Shelter Program estimates the
  backlog of housing need in urban areas at 2.5
  million in 2004, of which 44 of the need will be
  in the NCR. Other data that include slum housing
  in the backlog, estimates the need at 4.5
  million.
• The problem of housing is more a problem of
  supply than affordability. More than one-third of
  the urban population live in slum areas and half
  of the 1.4 million urban poor households reside
  in Metro Manila. Quite often, access to services
  in these settlements is inadequate.
• Between 1990 and 1995, resettlement programs
  became widespread. While the magnitude of
  resettlement programs rose dramatically from
  1,972 in 1990 to 12,369 in 1995, the number of
  slum upgrading, sites and services, and housing
  construction programs by the National Housing
  Authority (NHA) fell precipitously in the same
  period.

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Challenges in the Housing Sector

• PHILIPPINES NEEDS TO BUILD 3.75 Million HOUSES
  BY 2010 TO MEET NEED.
• Need for an enabling environment with clear and
  supportive regulatory frameworks and equitable
  legal systems for security of tenure
• Land conversion takes time and costs a lot of
  money the government can exempt socialized
  housing beneficiaries from paying the conversion
  fee
• Many LGUs do not have an approved Comprehensive
  Land Use Plans thus, resulting in the absence of
  areas identified for socialized housing

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• Lack of understanding among socialized housing
  beneficiaries, NGO originators and government
  officials of the social development goals and
  procedures mandated by the 1992 Urban Development
  and Housing Act (UDHA)
• Need for functional and efficient systems and
  structure
• Creation of Local Housing Board (LHB)
• - At present, the Urban Poor Affairs Office
  caters to the needs of the POs but they have many
  other concerns apart from housing. The creation
  of a Local Housing Board will help the POs
  process their documents.
• G) Streamlined Zoning Requirements
• 0. Additional requirements from the zoning board
  should be kept at a minimum because many urban
  poor groups have difficulty completing the
  processing of their documents. Any additional
  requirements must always be assessed vis-à-vis
  their applicability and practicality.
• 0. Need to generate adequate resources in
  implementing Secure Tenure programs
• 0. The guidelines for processing should be clear
  and the government should make it easier for the
  POs to process documents. This serves as an
  incentive for POs to organize since they get
  discouraged to proceed with their applications
  when processing takes long.
• 0. While CMP appears to be the most affordable
  option for the poor sector, the centralized
  processing of documents (e.g. Purchase Commitment
  Line and Letter of Guarantee) limited funding,
  complicated procedures, lack of appreciation
  among government regulatory agencies and petty
  corruption at different levels of the bureaucracy
  restrain the program in achieving a wider impact.

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• H) Proper Resource Allocation and Complementation
• Resources are always considered to be limited and
  thus, identifying the potential universe and
  magnitude of resources that can be tapped from
  the national government, local governments,
  private sector and donor community for urban
  development needs should be seriously looked
  into. The national budget has been criticized for
  its lack of urban development considerations in
  determining its priorities and distribution of
  funds. Hence, synchronizing and complementing
  resource infusions to urban development concerns
  should be done. Interim financing for CMP
  projects
• a revolving fund that will allow POs to
  immediately close the sale of an available
  property.
• I) Need to develop capacities of NGAs, LGUs,
  NGOs, and POs for effective delivery of housing
  services
• Provision of land development and basic services
  in CMP communities.
• In view of the low capacity of housing
  associations to follow up or process their
  documents, there is a need for a technical
  support from housing and related agencies
• The low financial capacity of NGOs, who are
  usually the originators in CMP, limits their
  ability to serve the POs. CMP processing can be
  made to adjust to such concerns.
• Lack of technical assistance and capability
  among the POs in tackling the issues on
  settlements.

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Sources / References

• Philippines Country Report (Philippine
  Commission on Population)
• Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference
• 11-17 December 2002, Bangkok, Thailand
• Peoples Daily online
• http//english.people.com.cn/200408/19/eng20040819
  _153814.html
• CIA World Factbook
• https//www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world
  -factbook/geos/rp.htmlPeople
• POPULATION
• http//english.people.com.cn/200408/19/eng20040819
  _153814.html
• https//www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world
  -factbook/geos/rp.htmlPeople
• CAUSES OF SQUATTING
• Adopted from UNFPA Country Assessment, 1999 p.
  24.
• Note The 1995 estimates are based on a 1990
  projection on urban population by Eduardo T.
  Gonzalez, et al. "Population and Urbanization
  Manageing the Urbanization Process under a
  Decentralized Framework," Settlements, Growth
  Zones and Urbanization (Manila, December 1998).
• Source Census of Population and Housing
  1960-1995.