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PUF Project Steering Committee

LEAD CONVENOR:

Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC)

Under Section 3 of Executive Order 90 (17 December 1986), the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), which is under the immediate control and supervision of the President of the Philippines, is charged with the main function of coordinating the activities of the government housing agencies to ensure the accomplishment of the National Shelter Program. HUDCC shall:

1. Formulate national objectives for housing and urban development and to design broad strategies for accomplishment of these objectives;
2. Determine the participation and coordinate the activities of the key government housing agencies in the national housing program;
3. Monitor, review and evaluate the effective exercise by these agencies of their assigned functions;
4. Assist in the maximum participation of the private sector in all aspects of housing and urban development;
5. Recommend new legislation and amendments to existing laws as may be necessary for the attainment of government's objective in housing;
6. Formulate the basic policies, guidelines and implementing mechanisms for the disposal or development of acquired or existing assets of the key housing agencies;
7. Exercise or perform other powers and functions as may be deemed necessary, proper or incidental to the attainment of its purpose and objectives.

Per Executive Order 20, Series of 2001, HUDCC shall:

1. Serves as the lead agency to in formulating the national objectives, policies and strategies for housing and urban development;
2. Coordinate and monitor the activities of all government agencies undertaking housing projects, including those of Local Government Units (LGUs), to ensure the accomplishment of the goals of the government's housing program;
3. Encourage the maximum participation of the private sector in all aspects of housing and urban development;
4. Formulate the basic policies, guidelines and implementing mechanisms for the disposal or development of acquired or existing assets of the key housing agencies which are not required for the accomplishment of their basic mandates;
5. Identify, plan and secure local and foreign funding for housing programs and projects;
6. Provide directions to the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) to ensure rational land use for the equitable distribution and enjoyment of development benefits.
7. Recommend new legislation and amendments to existing laws as maybe necessary for the attainment of government's objectives in housing;
8. Undertake other functions as provided by existing laws that are not contrary to the above-mentioned.

MEMBERS:

Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD)

The Center for Community Journalism and Development is a facility for journalists working with communities and institutions for social change.

The Center aims to support, encourage, and help sustain efforts of journalists working with citizens and institutions for the development of an enabling environment that would result to self-determining communities. Succinctly, it means doing public journalism for our communities.

The Center's goals are as follows:

1. Develop a new journalistic paradigm that would enable citizens and communities shape the news agenda by enhancing the skills of community journalists and raising the professional standards of media.
2. Encourage greater citizen participation in governance and civic life through public journalism initiatives.
3. Increase popular understanding of peace, development and social justice issues through better and involved journalism that would contribute to policy reform.

Center for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG)

The Center for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG) is a knowledge-based, information-driven institution committed to th promotion and strengthening of capabilities of local and regional governments for national development.

Formerly the Local Government Center, CLRG was established in 1965 by Republic Act 4223 to assist local governments in performing their optimal roles in local governance and national development. CLRG's was established to:

• Serve as an academic base for an integrated program of research, training, management consultancy, and technical assistance for local and regional development;
• Serve as center for the acquisition and dissemination of more knowledge or understanding of issues and concerns about local and regional government through publications, fora, and networking; and
• Contribute to the enrichment of the academic program of the College through the development of resource and teaching materials.

Since its creation, CLRG has promoted the cause of decentralization and local autonomy. The Center contributed heavily to the drafting of the Decentralization Act of 1967, while its technical inputs led to the inclusion of a separate article on local governments in the 1973 Constitution. That breakthrough paved the way for more proactive policies on decentralization, culminating in the 1991 Local Government Code.

CLRG pioneered and continues to administer the Local Administration and Development Program (LADP), a training program for local officials and leaders. In 1984, LADP received the Most Outstanding Extension/Community Service Award from the University of the Philippines.

In three decades of service, the Center remains true to its mandate to help local governments become sources of development and progress. This mandate is carried out through training and education, research and publication, and consulting and advisory services, by a pool of competent staff, many of whom have had advanced training here and abroad. And because it is part of the University of the Philippines through the college of Public Administration, it will always reflect the expertise and integrity of these institutions.

Chamber of Real Estates Builders Association (CREBA)

CREBA is the acronym for Chamber of Real Estate and Builders' Associations, Inc, the umbrella organization of the real estate and housing industry. It is the single biggest organization of about 4,000 professionals and entities comprising the widest cross section of the industry. Members are real estate practitioners, brokers, developers, builders, contractors, planners, architects, engineers or any of the other allied professionals engaged in housing, condominium building, industrial estate, leisure club, resort and hotel development in the Philippines.

More than just an organization committed to protect and promote the interests of its members, CREBA seeks to ratonalize the seemingly conflicting forces of business, government and homeless society, and ever mindful that the larger national interest is paramount.

Cognizant of the vital role of the real estate and housing industry as a major pump-primer of the economy and catalyst for national growth as well as the firm commitment of CREBA to enhance the viability and sustainability of the industry, the government recognizes the Chamber as an effective and dynamic partner for national development.Assuming its pro-active role in the formulation of national policies and goals, either by direct participation or through meaningful advocacies, CREBA has actively participated and vigorously pushed for the interest of the industry in the passage of legislation, establishment of support institutions and adoption of rules and regulations—among the many are:

• Creation of the National Housing Authority (NHA) in 1975 under Presidential Decree 757
• Construction of water mains throughout Manila in 1975
• Subdivision and Condominium Buyers' Protection through the issuance of Presidential Decree 957 in 1976 for the protection of homebuyers via the standardization of property development and promulgation of fair trade practices, particularly in the issuance of subdivision/condominium development plans, licensing of developers, and adjudication of cases involving developers and buyers
• Creation of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) through Executive Order 648 issued in 1980 in response to the idea of streamlining the regulatory process by breaking up the NHA into more specialized agencies
• Enactment of the Social Housing Act or Batas Pambansa Blg. 220 to allow the HLURB to promulgate subdivision and housing development standards for socialized housing project provided for under Presidential Decrees 957, 1216, 1095. and 1096, requiring developers to conform to any of these standards based on the affordability levels of their target markets
• Creation of the Pag-IBIG Fund in 1979
• Creation of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) in 1980, as a secondary market system for home mortgages
• Enactment of Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA)
• Creation of the CREBA Social Housing Foundation, Inc. (CSHFI) in 1992 to serve as a vehicle by which the private sector can more actively participate in socialized housing delivery in support of the government shelter program
• Enactment of Republic 7835 or the Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Financing Act (CISFA), the law which provides for a comprehensive and integrated shelter and urban development financing program by increasing and regulating the yearly appropriations of the National Shelter Program's major components to ensure the effective implementation of government policies that call for cooperation with the private sector

Co-Multiversity (COM)

CO MULTIVERSITY is a capability-building institution that has a broader perspective on the empowerment process. The organization aims to respond to the difficult challenges faced by the marginalized communities to address the impact of poverty due to the globalization process. The learning processes of the training modules are based on the lessons of the past and guided by the new issues of the present which confronts many people's organizations and development NGOs especially on the questions of strategies and tactics of empowerment, the use of power, empowering dispute resolution management processes and peace and development questions in Mindanao.

Co-Multiversity's vision is empowered communities engaged with other stakeholders in working towards sustainable development. Its mission as a learning center is to enhance the capacities of community organizations, peoples' organizations, and other development organizations by creating and nurturing innovative, culturally-sensitive and empowering community processes in partnership with other stakeholders.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall promote peace and order, ensure public safety, strengthen capability of local government units through active people participation and a professionalized corps of civil servants.

The Department is primary catalyst for excellence in local governance that nurtures self-reliant, progressive, orderly, safe and globally competitive communities sustained by God-centered and empowered citizenry.

The Department assists the President in his/her general supervision over local government units, oversee and monitor the implementation of the Local Government Code of 1991, enhance the capabilities of the LGU's for self-governance, and implement plans and programs on local autonomy.

Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF)

More popularly known as the Pag-I.B.I.G. fund, the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) focuses on the administration of a nationwide provident fund for the government's housing program and formulates other investment strategies relative to housing, as well as improve its collection efficiency.

The HDMF was created on June 11, 1978 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1530, later amended by Presidential Decree 1752 and Republic Act 7742. Under Presidential Decree 1530, two agencies administered the fund—the Social Security Systems (SSS) saw to the funds from private employees; Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the funds from government workers.

Pag-I.B.I.G. is an acronym, which stands for Pagtutulungan sa Kinabukasan: Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya at Gobyerno. In effect, Pag-IBIG harnesses these four sectors of our society to provide its members with adequate housing through as effective savings scheme.

Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC)

Formerly the Home Insurance and Guaranty Corporation, the Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC) is a government-owned and controlled corporation tasked to operate a credit guaranty program in support of government's efforts to promote home ownership. The HGC mobilizes all necessary resources to broaden the capital base for the effective delivery of housing and other related services, primarily for the low-income earners through a viable system of credit insurance, mortgage guarantee, and security

Since its creation in 1950 as the Home Financing Commission, the HGC has institutionalized a viable system of credit guarantees that has become an integral component of the shelter program of government. HGC stands alone and unique in this field of housing finance. No other government institution or instrumentality, for lack of enabling law, can provide the risk cover and tax incentives that HGC is authorized to extend. HGC provides risk guarantees and fiscal incentives for housing credits extended by financing institutions, thereby stimulating the flow of funds from both the government and private sectors for housing and urban development.

Homeless Peoples' Federation of the Philippines (HPFP)

The Philippines Homeless People's Federation brings together poor community organizations in cities across the Philippines, all engaged with finding solutions to problems they face with secure land, housing, income, infrastructure, health, welfare and access to affordable credit. Some groups are new, others are being revived, some are church-related, others are mini-federations in their own right. The common thread in all these groups is managing their own savings and credit programs and using savings as the central means of improving their livelihoods, strengthening their communities and securing land and houses.

Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB)

Formerly the Human Settlements Regulatory Commission, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) is the sole regulatory body for housing and land development. It ensures rational land use for the equitable distribution and enjoyment of development benefits. It is charged with encouraging greater private sector participation in low-cost housing through liberalization of development standards, simplification of regulations and decentralization of approvals for permits and licenses. It extends comprehensive and productive planning assistance to provinces, cities and municipalities towards the formulation of Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUPs).

Institute on Church and Social Issues (ICSI)

Established in 1984 by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus, ICSI is composed of a small group of individuals with solid academic training in the social sciences and related fields. ICSI serves as a center for social research and policy analysis. It offers thorough and incisive discussions on important problems and issues that affect Philippine society as a whole, in order to provide significant and effective participation in political processes.

Guided by the general orientations of Catholic social teaching, ICSI specializes in the presentation of the legitimate needs and concerns of the poor and the policies and programs that affect them. ICSI also has a special interest in the role of the Church and Philippine society. It coordinates with NGOs and POs including basic ecclesial communities in the effort to encourage and stimulate Church activities and support for the poor.

League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP)

The League of Cities of the Philippines is a non-profit organization composed of 84 cities within the Republic of the Philippines.

LCP's vision is an organization of cities united and committed to genuine and effective local autonomy and development, with democratic access to all available resources. Its mission is to ventilate, articulate and crystallize issues affecting city government administration and securing through proper and legal means, solutions thereto.

Founded in 1988, it has represented the communal efforts of city mayoralties throughout the country in their efforts to share and promote best practices in the fields of public administration and governance, as well as critical urban issues, such as environmental management and public works administration.

Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas (LnB)

The Liga ng mga Barangay, unbeknownst to many, is the largest organization among local government associations whose members come from the grassroots. The Liga ng mga Barangay represents a membership of 41, 939 barangays. Considering the nature of the organization, the Liga ng mga Barangay is deemed a very important and effective force that can advance the interests of the barangays, the most basic political unit of governance.

The LnB's vision is "a network of interdependent chapters advocating principles and practices of governance that help build and nurture livable, sustainable, productive, and economically vibrant local communities."

The LnB's mission is "to represent the interests and aspirations of the country's 41, 939 barangays and enhance their capability to effectively govern and manage public affairs through the exchange of information, human resource development, and technical services."

Local Government Academy (LGA)

Lodged within the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Local Government Academy (LGA) is responsible for human resource development and training of local government officials and the department personnel. The Academy is under the direct supervision of a Board of Trustees composed of the Secretary of Local Government as chairperson and four other members to be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary.

As the premier learning and development institution for capability-building towards innovative and active local governance, LGA is committed to the vision of a national training resource for local governments and a center for excellence that seeks to develop a corps of competent and dedicated local government executives and functionaries, in support of decentralization and local autonomy.

National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC)

The NHMFC is the major government home mortgage institution. Its initial main function is to operate a viable home mortgage market, utilizing long-term funds principally provided by the Social Security System, the Government Service Insurance System, and the Home Development Mutual Fund to purchase mortgages originated by both public and private institutions that are within government-approved guidelines. It is also charged with the development of a system that will attract private institutional funds into long-term housing mortgages.

National Housing Authority (NHA)

The National Housing Authority (NHA) is the sole national agency mandated to engage in direct shelter production focused on providing housing assistance to the lowest 30 percent of urban income-earners through slum upgrading, squatter relocation, development of sites and services, and construction of core housing units. In addition, it undertakes programs for the improvement of blighted urban areas and provides technical assistance for private developers undertaking low-cost housing projects.

It traces its roots to the People's Homesite Corporation (PHC), the first government housing agency established on 14 October 1938 and to the National Housing Commission (NHC) which was created seven years later, on 17 September 1945. These two agencies, the PHC and the NHC, were eventually merged on 4 October 1947 into the People's Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC).

In the years that followed, six (6) more housing agencies were created to respond to separate and distinct shelter requirements, namely: the Presidential Assistant on Housing and Resettlement Agency (PAHRA); the Tondo Foreshore Development Authority (TFDA); the Central Institute for the Training and Relocation of Urban Squatters (CITRUS); the Presidential Committee for Housing and Urban Resettlement (PRECHUR); the Sapang Palay Development Committee (SPDC); the Inter-Agency Task Force to Undertake the Relocation of Families in Barrio Nabacaan, Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.

Eventually, on 15 October 1975, the National Housing Authority was organized as a government-owned and controlled corporation, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 757 dated 31 July 1975. All other housing agencies were abolished by the said Decree. The NHA took over and integrated the functions of the abolished agencies--the PHHC and the six (6) other housing agencies. The creation of the NHA is the second attempt of the government to integrate all housing efforts under a single agency, 28 years after the first merger under the PHHC.

Under PD 757 dated 31 July 1975, NHA was tasked to develop and implement a comprehensive and integrated housing program that shall embrace, among others, housing development and resettlement, sources and schemes of financing, and delineation of government and private sector participation. Under EO 90 dated 17 December 1986. NHA was mandated as the sole national government agency to engage in shelter production focusing on the housing needs of the lowest 30% of the urban population.

Under RA 7279 (UDHA) dated 24 March 1992, NHA was tasked to provide technical and other forms of assistance to local government units (LGUs) in the implementation of their housing programs; to undertake identification, acquisition and disposition of lands for socialized housing; and to undertake relocation and resettlement of families with local government units.

Under RA 7835 (CISFA) dated 08 December 1994, NHA was tasked with the implementation of the following components of the National Shelter Program—the Resettlement Program, Medium Rise Public and Private Housing, Cost Recoverable Programs and the Local Housing Program.

Under EO 195 dated 31 December 1999, NHA was mandated to focus on socialized housing through the development and implementation of a comprehensive and integrated housing development and resettlement; fast-tracking the determination and development of government lands suitable for housing; and ensuring the sustainability of socialized housing funds by improving its collection efficiency, among others.

Peoples' Organization for Secure Tenure Network (POST-Net)

[organization profile/description to follow…]

Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners (PIEP)

[organization profile/description to follow…]

Shelter and Housing Advisory Group (SHAG)

The Shelter and Housing Advisory Group (SHAG) was created by the Makati Business Club (MBC) on 7 September 2001, in line with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's economic agenda. It consists of committees that would focus on important areas of the housing industry namely: finance, production and processes, and institutional support.

The Group works closely with the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), as well as the other housing agencies and Government Financial Institutions throughout the process to make sure that the recommendations would be acceptable to these institutions. The recommendations of the advisory group were incorporated with the suggestions generated from other regional summits on housing that were taking place around the country. The results of these summits were then presented to the President during a National Housing Summit on 24 October 2001.

A copy of the Shelter and Housing Advisory Group report, "Towards an Invigorated Housing Industry for Catalyzing National Development," was submitted to H.E. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Housing Secretary Michael Defensor.

In her first State of the Nation Address last 23 July 2001, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo identified housing as one of her administration's priority areas. She called on the private sector to help government revitalize this sector. During a meeting with the Board of Trustees of the Makati Business Club on 11 August 2001, she asked the group to spearhead a dialogue with all the key members of the housing industry to explore and identify ways to reinvigorate the industry.

Subdivision and Housing Development Associations, Inc. (SHDA)

[organization profile/description to follow…]

Urban Poor Colloquium (UPC)

The Urban Poor Colloquium (UPC), formed in 1994 during a Misereor gathering of its partners, was established to address the need for complementation, mainstreaming and scaling up of efforts to better respond to urgent tasks that lay ahead for the urban poor sector. The Partnership of Philippine Support Services Agencies (PHILSSA) currently serves as the National Coordinating Secretariat for the UPC.

Urban Research Consortium (URC)

In September 1995, the Urban Research Consortium (URC) was formally organized to facilitate the exchange of information, perspectives, and competencies in support of policy advocacy between and among NGOs and academic institutions.

Through the Consortium, the experience and practical insights of NGOs carrying out developmental programs and immersed in the problems confronted by urban poor communities are complemented with the expertise of academic/research organizations skilled in scientific data-gathering and investigation. Together they aim to produce policy studies useful to policy-makers, advocates, program implementors and urban poor communities.

This overall purpose is reflected in the present composition of the Urban Research Consortium (URC). Initially based in Metro Manila, the URC is made up of NGOs engaged in organizing and/or policy research and advocacy and academics from research institutions based in Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University and the University of the Philippines. The URC has also set up regional centgers in the cities of Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Naga to act as bases for similar networks of NGOs and academics in Visayas, Mindanao, and Southern Luzon respectively.

The URC's main activity is the conduct of research on relevant urban issues, especially those that affect the lives of the poor and marginalized sectors. URC members individually or jointly undertake research projects that form part of a research agenda collectively agreed upon by the consortium.

The URC also holds symposia and other public for as venues for stimulating public discussion on its research findings and other relevant concerns. In these for a, people from the academe, NGOs, POs, government and the media are invited to participate.

Research report are published by the consortium in the form of policy studies, occasional papers and reading materials usable to their intended audience. The URC intends to put out a regular bulletin to update members and interested groups of URC activities and timely research findings.

As a way of encouraging greater interest in urban social research, the URC offers small research grants to graduate students, professional researchers and social development workers. Such grants are intended for research on topics specified by the consortium on the basis of current or strategic policy needs.