INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS are a glaring manifestation of poverty and inequality

amid the growth and prosperity brought by urbanization, the spatial concentration of diverse populations and economic activities. Meeting the housing need of informal settlers, who make up a significant proportion of the urban population, has been and remains a daunting task and challenge for the government and the private housing market.

This issue of the Intersect Quick Facts provides a broad picture of urbanization in the Philippines and of how informal settlements have been a defining feature of this significant and irreversible demographic trend. It describes briefly the government’s approaches in responding to the housing needs of informal settlers, and presents innovative solutions by non-government actors that allow the poor to take full advantage of laws that guarantee their right to adequate housing.

RESEARCH AND LAYOUT BY Gerald M. Nicolas

EDITED BY Anna Marie A. Karaos

HOUSING THE POOR

URBANIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

VOL. IV NO. 3

QUICK FACTS

OCTOBER 2017

45.3%In 2010,

or 41.9 million of the 92.3 million Filipinos lived in urban areas.

UNITED NATIONS 2015

THE CHALLENGE OF URBANIZATION

80%Urban economies in agglomerations like Metro Manila drive the rapid urbanization in the Philippines, and contribute 80% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In 2016, the National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for 36.6% of the GDP, followed by the urbanizing regions adjacent to it: CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) with 16.8% and Central Luzon with 9.5%.

NOTE: AT CONSTANT 2000 PRICES; PSA 2017a

37%

56.3%By 2050,

of the total population will live in urban areas.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has the highest proportion of poor people among its urban population.

NOTE: ESTIMATES FOR THE CORDILLERA AUTONOMOUS REGION (CAR) AND REGION II (CAGAYAN VALLEY) WERE EXCLUDED DUE TO VERY LOW LEVEL OF PRECISION. PSA 2017b.

POVERTY INCIDENCE AMONG INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN URBAN AREAS

Philippines

NCR

Central Luzon

CALABARZON

Ilocos Region

Zamboanga Peninsula

Davao Region

MIMAROPA

Bicol Region

Central Visayas

Northern Mindanao

Eastern Visayas

Western Visayas

SOCCSKSARGEN

Caraga

ARMM

ICF INTERNATIONAL 2014

PHO

TO BY G

ERALD

M. N

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PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY (PSA) 2013

2

MOST POPULOUS CITIES, 2015Quezon City 2,936,116

Manila 1,780,148

Davao City 1,632,991

Caloocan City 1,583,978

Cebu City 922,611

Philippines 100,979,303

Metro Manila 12,877,253

MORE THAN 1,000,000

145 CITIESThere are

in the Philippines,

33of which are “highly urbanized cities”, i.e., with a minimum population of 200,000 and with the latest annual income of at least Php 50 million.

12.9MILLION

The population of Metro Manila (16 cities and 1 municipality) was 13% of the national population in 2015.

POPULATION

Located in the so-called typhoon belt of the Pacific and along the “Ring of Fire,” the Philippines is particularly vulnerable to natural hazards. Because of their large populations, cities are most at risk of disasters. Poor urban planning and management worsens the situation.

CITIES AT RISK

SUPER TYPHOON YOLANDA, 2013 TACLOBAN CITYAlmost 90% of city wiped out^

2,678 deaths^^

≈60,000 damaged or destroyed houses^^

TROPICAL STORM SENDONG, 2011 CAGAYAN DE ORO CITYAt least 228,000 persons affected+

674 deaths+

Almost 20,000 damaged houses+

TROPICAL STORM ONDOY, 2009 METRO MANILAAt least 123,000 persons affected by flood waters from knee to rooftop deep*

241 deaths**

At least 65,000 houses damaged**

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^NG 2015; ^^ NATIONAL DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT COUNCIL (NDRRMC) 2013; +NDRRMC 2012; *NATIONAL DISASTER COORDINATING COUNCIL (NDCC) 2009; **VIROLA 2009

MOST DENSELY POPULATED CITIES AND URBAN AREAS, 2015

Metro Manila

Manila 71,263

Mandaluyong City 41,580

Pasay City 29,815

Caloocan City 28,387

Navotas City 27,904

Cities/Urban Municipalities Outside Metro Manila

GMA, Cavite 16,505

Rosario, Cavite 14,547

Mandaue City, Cebu 14,402

San Pedro City, Laguna 13,547

Bacoor City, Cavite 13,009

PSA 2016, PSA 2017c; MAP FROM WIKIPEDIA

PERSONS PER SQUARE KILOMETER

Baguio City, Benguet 6,005

Naga, Camarines Sur 2,532

Iloilo City, Iloilo 5,719

Cebu City, Cebu 2,929

Cagayan de Oro City 1,637

Davao City 668

POPULATION DENSITY OF KEY CITIES, 2015PERSONS PER SQUARE KILOMETER

2,444KM2

Davao City is the largest city in terms of land area, three times that of Metro Manila.

of the 25 coastal cities around the world susceptible to a one-meter sea level rise are in the Philippines: Butuan, Davao, Iloilo, Caloocan, Malabon, Manila, and Taguig (ADB 2017, De Vera 2017).

7

MORE THAN 200,000 BUT LESS THAN 1,000,000

100,000 TO 200,000

LESS THAN 100,000

3

INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS REFLECT THE INABILITY OF CITIES TO COPE WITH RAPID URBAN GROWTHThe lack of affordable housing options, especially for low-income families, has resulted in the growth of heavily populated informal settlements. Informal settlers are generally those who occupy lands without the consent of the property owner (Reyes et al 2012, 15). In recent years, however, the term has been applied to those in danger areas (e.g., along riverbanks, railways, under the bridge) and areas earmarked for government infrastructure projects or for other uses excluding human habitation (e.g., protected areas, except for indigenous peoples).

Not all informal settlers are income-poor. Those who are earning relatively higher income than the rest in their community live in informal settlements because affordable alternatives near their places of work are few (Ballesteros 2010, 8). Many thus opt to endure poor living conditions—overcrowded neighborhoods, substandard housing, inadequate access to safe water and basic sanitation, and high exposure to natural and human induced hazards—because the cost of land and housing in cities is simply prohibitive.

GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO HOUSING THE POOR AND INFORMAL SETTLERS

2.2 MILLION PERSONS

OR 5.4% OF THE URBAN POPULATION IN 2012 LIVED IN INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

1.3 MILLION WERE IN

METRO MANILA

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) (2017, 12-4) puts the number of informal settler families (ISFs) in 2011, both in urban and rural areas, at

1.5 MILLION FAMILIES

HOW MANY INFORMAL SETTLERS ARE THERE?In terms of individuals, the World Bank (2017, 59) estimates that

WHERE ARE THEY?

DANGER AREAS767,502

PRIVATELY-OWNED LANDS378,517

GOVERNMENT-OWNED LANDS265,361

REGARDLESS OF THE DIFFERENCES IN AVAILABLE ESTIMATES, THE FACT REMAINS THAT MILLIONS OF FAMILIES CAN ONE DAY LOSE THEIR HOMES WHEN THE LEGAL OWNERS OR GOVERNMENT DECIDE TO EVICT THEM FROM THE LAND.

Metro Manila 584,425 39%

CALABARZON 221,284 15%

Bicol 142,028 9%

Central Luzon 117,670 8%

Northern Mindanao 82,272 5%

REGIONS WITH THE MOST ISFsMAGNITUDE AND PERCENTAGE SHARE OF NATIONAL TOTAL

OTHERS

The 1987 Constitution guarantees people’s right to housing, but does not mention providing housing for free.

“The State shall, by law, and for the common good, undertake, in cooperation with the private sector, a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas.”

ARTICLE XIII, SECTION 9

Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (UDHA) mandates local governments to undertake shelter planning, designate social housing sites, and formulate and implement social housing programs for the “poor and underprivileged.” The national government, for its part, is tasked to formulate the national urban development and housing framework and regulate housing and settlements. National shelter agencies provide support to local governments for site development and house construction (i.e., National Housing Authority or NHA) and financing (i.e., Social Housing Finance Corporation or SHFC).

GOVERNMENT ADDRESSES THE HOUSING NEED OF LOW-INCOME INFORMAL SETTLERS USING THREE APPROACHES.

OFF-CITY RELOCATION

Resettlement is offered mainly to low-income families in “danger areas” and sites of government infrastructure projects. The NHA is the shelter agency in charge of developing resettlement sites. Most of these large-scale housing projects are located in areas outside the city and far from work and livelihood opportunities, educational institutions, and public hospitals.

A household makes graduated payments for a house and lot, starting at a subsidized amount of ₱200 per month in the first four years, increasing incrementally to up to ₱1,330 per month. Awardees have up to 30 years to pay for their house and lot.

The Community Mortgage Program (CMP) of SHFC lends to legally organized communities up to ₱100,000 per household to purchase the land they have been occupying from a willing owner. The community association can also borrow ₱30,000 for site development and ₱120,000 for house construction per household. The group loan is paid monthly for up to 25 years and carries an interest rate of 6% per annum.

Presidential proclamations grant informal settlers a chance to acquire government-owned lands that have not been used for the purpose for which they were acquired or allocated. Families in proclaimed sites do not enjoy security of tenure until they receive their Certificate of Entitlement for Lot Award (CELA).

The CMP also offers loans for community associations to buy a piece of land in an entirely new site where the members intend to relocate, but such projects are very few.

NHA has been constructing low-rise housing for informal settlers but many of these are in bad shape after a few years. SHFC implements the High-Density Housing Program which lends to community associations for constructing multistory housing.

Some local governments implement housing projects usually in partnership with non-government organizations such as Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity. Some local governments such as Quezon City have their social housing projects refinanced by the SHFC.

OFF-SITE, IN-CITY HOUSING

ON-SITE UPGRADING

51%

25%

18%

NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY/ LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS/ DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS, CITED IN ICF INTERNATIONAL 2014

EMAIL jjcicsi@gmail.comTEL (632) 426.6001 ext. 4655 to 4668FAX (632) 426.6070WEB www.jjcicsi.org.phFACEBOOK www.facebook.com/JJCICSI

2/F BENIGNO MAYO HALLSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMPLEXATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITYLOYOLA HEIGHTSQUEZON CITY

REFERENCES

The share of housing in the annual national bugdet is less than 0.5% or 0.12% of GDP (NEDA 2017, 12-2).

A DROP IN THE BUCKET... ...FOR A HUGE HOUSING TARGET

INNOVATIONS FROM THE GROUND

0.39%OF THE ₱3.35 TRILLION NATIONAL BUDGET OR ₱12.965 BILLION

For 2017, the NHA and SHFC received

GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017

1.7 MILLION

NHA Housing Production 836,730Resettlement for informal settler families 300,100

Housing for soldiers and police personnel 42,800

Settlements upgrading 39,900

Housing for employees 24,100

Mixed-used development 15,800

Housing assistance for calamity victims 414,030

Community-driven Housing 385,524Community Mortgage Program (CMP) 250,591

High Density Housing Program (HDHP) 134,934

Retail and Development Financing 516,957End-user financing through the Home Development Mutual Fund (PAG-IBIG)

516,957

HOUSEHOLDS TARGETED FOR DIRECT HOUSING ASSISTANCE

FROM 2017-2022

Non-government actors (e.g., civil society organizations and universities) and organized poor communities engage national government (on laws and policies) and local governments (on city shelter plans and housing projects) to push for in-city relocation of informal settler families. “People’s plans”, referring to community-initiated housing processes long advocated by NGOs

The project was initiated by 212 families affected by Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009 and organized themselves to look for a safer place where to transfer within the barangay.

To pay for the land fully and construct their houses, the association accessed loan from the SHFC through the High-Density Housing Program. The Quezon City government provided ₱7.7 million to cover the installation of a drainage system, concreting of pavements, and construction of the retaining wall.

ERNESTVILLE BARANGAY GULOD, QUEZON CITY

POPE FRANCIS VILLAGE BARANGAY 99 (DIIT), TACLOBAN CITY

XAVIER ECOVILLE BARANGAY LUMBIA, CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

This in-city housing project for at least 600 Yolanda-affected families adopts the “people’s plan” approach which emphasizes meaningful participation of families in almost all the steps of project implementation—from conceptualization, design, and planning to actual construction and post-occupation management of the community The implementer, a consortium of NGOs and Church organizations called FRANCESCO, leveraged resources from various sources such as international NGOs (for land acquisition, temporary shelters, livelihood) and government (development permits).

Xavier Ecoville is a “special resettlement project” of the Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan for more than 500 families affected by Tropical Storm Sendong. The university helped organize the residents to form two organizations: the homeowners’ association that would work with the barangay government and deal with general problems in the community, and the multipurpose cooperative that would implement livelihood projects. It also mobilized students and faculty members of different departments and students for various project components such as health and livelihood.

FRA

NC

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INA

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NEDA 2017

Asian Development Bank (ADB). 2017. A Region At Risk: The Human Dimensions of Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific. Mandaluyong City: ADB.

Ballesteros, Marife. 2010. Linking Poverty and the Environment: Evidence from Slums in Philippine Cities. Makati City: Philippine Institute for Development Studies. https://dirp4.pids.gov.ph/ris/dps/pidsdps1033.pdf, accessed 31 October 2017.

De Vera, Ben. 2017. ADB: 7 PH cities most vulnerable to flooding. Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 July. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/914078/adb-7-ph-cities-most-vulnerable-to-flooding, accessed 2 November 2017.

General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2017. Official Gazette. 2016. Vol. I, sec XXXVI.

ICF International. 2014. Developing a National Informal Settlements Upgrading Strategy for the Philippines: Final Report. Makati City: HUDCC. http://www.hudcc.gov.ph/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/document/NISUS%20Final%20Report_July2014.pdf, accessed 30 October 2017.

Karaos, Anna Marie, Anna Marie Alhambra, Gemma Rita Marin, Gerald Nicolas and Marvee Anne Ramos. 2017. Compendium of Permanent Housing Interventions in Post-Yolanda Rehabilitation in Eastern Visayas, Philippines. Makati City: United Nations Development Programme. http://www.ph.undp.org/content/philippines/en/home/library/crisis_prevention_and_recovery/YolandaHouseCompendium.html, accessed 3 November 2018.

National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). 2009. Final Report on Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (Ketsana) and Typhoon “Pepeng” (Parma). http://ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/1543/Update_Final_Report_TS_Ondoy_and_Pepeng_24-27SEP2009and30SEP-20OCT2009.pdf, accessed 2 November 2017.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). 2012. Memorandum for the SND and Chairperson, NDRRMC (Final Report on the Effects and Emergency Management re Tropical Storm “Sendong” (Washi). http://www.ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/1347/Final_Report_on_the_Effects_and_Emergency_Management_re_Tropical_Storm_SENDONG_%28WASHI%29_Status_of_Early_Recovery_Programs_in_Region_X_issued_10FEB2014.pdf, accessed 2 November 2017.

________. 2013. Final Report re Effects of Typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan). http://ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/1329/FINAL_REPORT_re_Effects_of_Typhoon_YOLANDA_(HAIYAN)_06-09NOV2013.pdf, accessed 2 November 2017.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). 2017. Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022. Pasig City: NEDA.

Ng, Ronald. 2015. Philippines Remembers Thousands Killed A Year After Typhoon Haiyan. Huffington Post, 7 January. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/08/philippines-typhoon-haiyan-anniversary_n_6125118.html, accessed 2 November 2017.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). 2013. Urban Barangays in the Philippines (Based on 2010 Census of Population and Households). Makati City: PSA. https://psa.gov.ph/content/urban-barangays-philippines-based-2010-cph, accessed 30 October 2017.

________. 2016. Population, Land Area, Population Density, and Percent Change in Population Density of the Philippines by Region, Province/Highly Urbanized City, and City/Municipality: 2015. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Makati City: PSA. https://psa.gov.ph/content/philippine-population-density-based-2015-census-population, accessed 28 October 2017.

________. 2017a. Regional Accounts of the Philippines, Gross Regional Domestic Product 2014-2016. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Makati City: PSA. https://psa.gov.ph/regional-accounts/grdp/data-and-charts, accessed 28 October 2017.

________. 2017b. Poverty Incidence for Individuals Residing in Urban Areas. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Makati City: PSA. https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/Tab%205%20-%20urban.xls, accessed 28 October 2017.

________. 2017c. Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC). http://nap.psa.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/listcity.asp, accessed 30 October 2017.

Reyes, Celia, Aubrey Tabuga, Ronina Asis, and Maria Blesila Datu. 2012. Poverty and Agriculture in the Philippines: Trends in Income Poverty and Distribution. Makati City: Philippine Institute for Development Studies. https://dirp4.pids.gov.ph/ris/dps/pidsdps1209.pdf, accessed 31 October 2017.

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2015. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision. New York: United Nations.

Virola, Romulo. 2009. The Devastation of Ondoy and Pepeng. http://nap.psa.gov.ph/headlines/statsspeak/2009/110909_rav_mrsr_typhoons.asp#figure4, accessed 2 November 2017.

World Bank Group. 2017. Philippines Urbanization Review: Fostering Competitive, Sustainable and Inclusive Cities. Full Report. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.

Xavier Ecoville Project. 2016. Xavier Ecoville 2: The Phase IV (Year 2) of Xavier Ecoville Experience. Cagayan de Oro City: Xavier Ecoville Project. http://www.xu.edu.ph/images/publication/newsletters/trompa/documents/XavierEcovilleMag.pdf, accessed 2 November 2017.

and people’s organizations, have gradually been recognized by government shelter agencies as an effective and viable approach to providing housing to informal settler families. City-wide shelter planning and slum upgrading initiatives have been piloted in cities with the support of international development organizations such as the World Bank and UN-Habitat.

XAVIER ECOVILLE PROJECT 2016KARAOS ET AL. 2017

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