The House of Representatives approved House Bill 9506, otherwise known as the Rental Housing Subsidy Program, on its third and final reading Tuesday night.
Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez, who authored the bill, said the approval is a significant step in fulfilling the commitment to address the housing needs in the country.
The bill aims to assist families affected by government projects or disasters by providing temporary housing rent subsidies, which also aligns with existing legislation and national development priorities, emphasizing the importance of housing as a human right, he added.
A total of 255 lawmakers voted in favor of House Bill 9506 while three others registered opposition.
Under this bill, subsidy will be provided to qualified families to cover full or partial cost of rent for temporary housing until their transfer to a permanent resettlement site provided by the government.
Benitez, who chairs the House committee on housing and urban development, said the bill guarantees that qualified families will continue to receive subsidy if and when the construction of permanent resettlement is delayed.
Poor families, who cannot afford to obtain housing loans, should have the option to temporarily rent a housing unit until they are permanently resettled in a public housing project, or until they have developed the financial capacity to acquire homeownership in the formal housing market, he added.
Benitez said the subsidy program essentially follows a graduated approach which begins with cash assistance for housing rent and ends with award of permanent housing unit in a public housing project.
The measure calls for a subsidy of P3,500 monthly to its beneficiaries as identified by the National Housing Authority.
The Negrense legislator said the bill also establishes conditions for eligibility in the program, wherein beneficiaries must not move back to the informal settlement where they originated.
“This prevents the Sisyphean task of perpetually providing subsidy to certain persons – and contributes to ending the cycle of housing informality and precarity in the country,” he added.
To qualify for the program, the bill requires informal settler families to vacate their current residence and transfer to a safer and “government-authorized” area.
They cannot move back unless allowed by the government and should also shoulder the balance of their rent not covered by the subsidy.
“Rental subsidy beneficiaries who maintain good payment standings shall be prioritized as beneficiaries in government housing programs,” the bill stated. ||
