By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
The Iloilo City Local Housing Office (ICLHO) still needs to survey 15 villages to complete its citywide assessment of informal settler families (ISFs) for a more equitable and effective approach to urban development.
ICLHO head Atty. Peter Jason Millare said that of the city’s 180 villages, data from about 165 villages have been collected, identifying around 17,000 ISFs so far.
Millare noted that most of the city’s ISF population consists of low-income earners, not those from the “poorest of the poor.”
“The low-income group makes up the large portion of the data since their income cannot afford to buy housing units due to high prices,” he said.
With the remaining villages expected to add several thousand more, the total number of ISFs in Iloilo could rise to around 20,000.
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) data showed that Iloilo has a housing backlog for ISFs, with a total of 18,874, based on the city government’s 2018 local shelter plan.
This demand is projected to rise, with an additional need for 11,000 housing units by 2027.
Aside from the recently turned-over 120 socialized condominium units from the SM Development Corporation, the city has two public-private partnership projects for housing in the pipeline.
These two projects are in the approval phase: the USWAG Condominium Complex Project with Eon Realty and Development Corporation and the USWAG Residential Building Project with Ethan Property Developer.
DHSUD Director for Housing and Real Estate Development Regulation Bureau, Lawyer Angelito Aguila, urged local government units to develop similar initiatives to address the city’s housing deficit for ISFs and low-income earners.
“They have to come up with a proposal or plan for the intended beneficiaries and submit it to DHSUD, where you can request assistance,” he said.
Aguila added that if the LGU has not identified any project developers, the DHSUD can tap developers with housing compliance experience with the government.
