philippine laws on housing and human settlements.docx

8/11/2019 PHILIPPINE LAWS ON HOUSING AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS.docx

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PHILIPPINE LAWS ON HOUSING AND

HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

I. PHILIPPINE LAWS ON HOUSING

A. Urban Development and Housing Act (RA 7279)

(Date of Effectivity: 29 March 1992)

1. Constitutional Basis:

Art. 13. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Sec. 9. 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

underpriviledged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas. It

shall also promote adequate employment opportunities to citizens. In the

implementation of such programs the State shall respect the rights of small property

owners.

Sec. 10. Urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings

demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner.

No resettlement of urban or rural dwellers shall be undertaken without adequate

consultation with them and the communities where they are to be relocated.

2. Objectives:

a. Make available to underprivileged and homeless citizens decent housing at

affordable cost;

b. Provide for rational use and development of urban land;

c. Regulate and direct urban growth and expansion towards a dispersed urban net andmore balanced urban-rural interdependence;

d. provide for an equitable land tenure system that shall guarantee security of tenure to

program beneficiaries but shall respect the rights of small property owners and ensure

the payment of just compensation;



e. Encourage more effective people's participation in the urban development process;

and

f. Improve the capability of local government units in undertaking urban development

and housing programs and projects.

3. Beneficiaries:

> must be male or female Filipino underprivileged and homeless citizen

(individual/families in urban/urbanizable areas whose income/combined household

income is within poverty threshold and who do not own housing facilities and those

who do not enjoy security of tenure)

> must not own real property in urban or rural areas

> not a professional squatter or not a member of squatting syndicates

4. Salient Provisions:

National Urban Development and Housing Framework

a comprehensive plan for urban and urbanizable areas to serve as basis for

achieving the objectives of the law

formulated by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) under

the direction of the Housing and Urban Development Coordination Council

(HUDCC) in coordination with all local government units and other concerned public and private sectors

UDHA Socialized Housing Program

The housing program of the law provides for:

a) Beneficiary listing (coming up with a master list of beneficiaries within one year

from the effectivity of the law)

a) Land inventory (within the territorial jurisdiction of LGUs)

a) Identification of socialized housing sites

a) Acquisition of identified socialized housing sites

a) Disposition of lands for socialized housing



UDHA Resettlement Program

resettlement of persons living in danger areas (esteros, railroad tracks, garbage

dump, riverbanks shorelines and waterways) and public places (sidewalks,

roads, parks and playgrounds) the LGUs, in coordination with the National Housing Authority, are tasked to

provide relocation or resettlement sites with basic services and facilities and

access to employment opportunities sufficient to meet the basic needs of the

affected families.

the law requires that this program be undertaken within 2 years from the date of

its effectivity (March 29, 1992 - March 29, 1994)

Balanced Housing Program

Developers of proposed subdivision projects are required to develop an area forsocialized housing equivalent to at least 20% of the total subdivision area or total

subdivision cost with the option tocomply instead through any of the following:

development of a new settlement; slum upgrading; joint-venture projects with LGUs

or any housing agency; or, participation in the community mortgage program

Eviction and Demolition (Rules and Procedure)

- The law discourages demolition as a practice. Eviction or demolition may be

allowed only when:

a. persons/entities occupy danger areas

b. persons/entities occupy public places

c. place occupied is a gov't. infrastructure project site

d. there is a court order for eviction or demolition

e. construction falls under the category: new illegal structure (construction afterMarch 29, 1992)

f. structure belongs to a professional squatter or a member of a squatting syndicate

- In the execution of eviction or demolition involving underprivileged and homeless

citizens, the following are mandatory: (Sec. 28, UDHA, Implementing Rules and

Regulations)



* 30-day notice

adequate consultation

only during office hours and good weather

presence of LGU officials

all those participating in demolitions must have proper ID the Philippine National Police shall be in proper uniform (their task is not to

demolish but for law enforcement and disturbance control only)

* heavy equipment shall not be used except for concrete structures

Moratorium on Eviction and Demolition

- There shall be a moratorium on the eviction of all program beneficiaries and on the

demolition of their houses or dwelling units for a period of 3 years from the effectivity

of the law (March 29, 1992 - March 29, 1995), this while the program components,

i.e., the Housing Program, Resettlement Program, Balanced Housing Program are

being accomplished or otherwise set in place.

B. Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Finance Act (RA 7835)

Increasing and regularizing yearly appropriation of the major components of the

national shelter program. It consists the following major component programs:

1.

Resettlement Program

2.

Medium-Rise Public and Private Housing3. Community Mortgage Program

4. Cost-Recoverable Programs

5. Local Housing Program

Resettlement Program (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 5.2B)

Target Beneficiaries: families displaced by government infrastructure projects;

those occupying danger areas such as waterways, esteros, railroad tracks, etc.;

and, those qualified for relocation and resettlement assistance under UDHA

It has 3 types of program delivery scheme:1.

NHA-Administered Resettlement Program

2.

Resettlement Assistance Program for Local Government Units (the

LGUs shall provide the land while the NHA provides funds for land

develoment)

3.

Resettlement Program with Other Government Agencies and the Private

Sector (may include 20% balanced housing by developers)



Medium-Rise Private and Public Housing (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 3B)

Target Beneficiaries:

o

For Medium-rise Public Housing: city relocation alternative for families

affected by relocation activities and qualified for assistance under

UDHAo

For Medium-rise Private Housing: housing option to low-income

families and to provide rental housing stock in high-density urban areas

Implementor: National Housing Authority with the participation of other

government agencies, local government units and the private sector

Manner of Acquisition: units are to be disposed either through: outright sale or

lease, depending on the affordability of the beneficiaries

Community Mortgage Program (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 12.78B)

Governed by all existing CMP guidelines issued by NHMFC Key Players: NHMFC - primary implementor

Gov't. agencies, LGUs, NGOs and POs as originators

Community Associations

Landowner

Cost Recoverable Programs (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 2.542 B)

Undertaken by government through the National Housing Authority in

cooperation with LGUs, housing cooperatives, NGOs, POs, landowners,

developers and other government agencies

Cost of land, land development and housing construction are to be recovered

from the target beneficiaries

At least 60% of the total number of the house and lot packages to be produced

under this program shall correspond to the lowest loan package under the

Unified Home Lending Program.

Local Housing Program (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 3B)

Purpose: o ensure the equitable distribution of housing benefits nationwide

Scope: elected urban and urbanizable areas in all congressional districts

Local Government Units may avail of the program, subject to the following

conditions:



II. INTERNATIONAL LAWS ON HOUSING

Introduction

The International Bill of Rights which consists of 3 Instruments, namely: a) The

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); b) The International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966); and c) The International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights (1966). This bill is at the core of the UN action in the

promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

These instruments define human rights and fundamental freedoms. They form the

foundation of many UN human rights conventions,declarations and sets of rules and

principles. Covenants are international legal instruments. When members to the UN

become parties to a Covenant or other conventions by ratifying or acceding to them,accept major obligations grounded in law.

State parties voluntarily bind themselves to bring national legislation, policy and

practice into line with their existing international legal obligations. By ratifying these,

States are accountable to their citizens, other State parties to the same instruments and

to the international community by solemnly commiting themselves to respect and

ensure the rights and freedom found in this documents. Many of these international

human rights treaties also require States parties to report regularly on the steps they

have taken to guarantee the realizations of these rights, and also the progress they

have done towards this end.

Right to Adequate Housing

The right to adequate housing is one of the economic, social and cultural rights to

have gained increasing attention and promotion from the United Nations Centre for

Human Settlement (Habitat). It strarted with the implementation of the Vancouver

Declaration on Human Settlements issued in 1976, followed by the proclamation of

the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (1987) and the adoption of the

Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, and by the United Nations General

assembly in 1988.

Adequate housing is universally viewed as one of the basic human needs but the UN

Centre for Human Settlements estimates that throughout the world over 1 B people

live in inadequate housing and with an excess of 100 M people living in conditions of

homelessness. Added to this, access to potable water and adequate sanitation facilities,



which are important basic needs associated with housing, are inadequate. Based on the

1990

Decade Assessment report released by the World Health Organization, 1.2 B people in

developing countries do not have access to drinking water and 1.8 B people live

without access to adequate sanitation. These situations only reveal the need of a globalstruggle to fulfill the right to adequate housing.

The International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (1987) facilitated the raising of

public awareness about the housing and related problemsprevalent throughout the

world. As a follow-up, the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 has propelled

to push the housing issues forward and had resulted in housing rights being placed

prominently on the human rights agenda of the United Nations.

The right to adequate housing forms a cornerstone of the Global Shelter Strategy:

"The right to adequate housing is universally recognized by the community ofnations... All nations without exception, have some form of obligation in the shelter

sector, as exemplified by their creation of housing ministries or housing agencies, by

their allocation of funds to the housing sector, and by their policies, programmes and

projects... All citizens of all States, poor as they may be, have a right to expect

their Governments to be concerned about their shelter needs, and to accept a

fundamental obligation to protect and improve houses and neighborhoods,

rather than damage or destroy them."

Within the Global Strategy, adequate housing is defined as:

adequate privacy, adequate space, adequate security, adequate lighting and

ventilation, adequate basic infrastructure and adequate location with regard to work

and basic facilities, all at a reasonable cost.

Legal Formulation of Housing Rights

With the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the

right to housing joined the body of international, universally applicable and

accepted human rights law. Adequate housing is the right of every child, womanand man — everywhere as phrased in many human rights instruments, namely:

Art. 25.1 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights proclaims that:

"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-

being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical



care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of

unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of

livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."

Art.11.1 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ratified or

acceded to by 108 States and which contains the most significant foundation ofthe right to housing found in the entire body of legal principles comprising the

international human rights law) declares that:

"The State Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an

adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food,

clothing and housing and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.

The State Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this

right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international

cooperation based on free consent."

UN Declaration on Social Progress and Development (1969) and the UN

Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (1976) are other instruments

that recognize the rights of everyone to adequate housing.

Various International Conventions and UN Declarations also contain

provisions on the housing rights of women, children, migrant workers,

refugees and indigenous peoples. In particular, the Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and includes the

obligation of States Parties to:

"prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination in all forms and to guaranteethe right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color or national or

ethnic origin,to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of

economic, social and cultural rights in particular... the right to housing."

Government Obligations in the Operationalization of Housing Rights

In relation to the operationalization of the right to adequate housing, the legal

obligations of governments concerning the right to adequate housing consist of: a)

duties found in Art.2.1 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

(Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes the steps, individually andthrough international assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical to

the maximum of its available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the

full realization of the rights recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate

means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures); and, b) the more

specific obligations to recognize, respect, protect and fulfil this and other rights.



Towards the Justiciability of Housing Rights

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has affirmed that the legal

principle or provision of domestic legal remedies are applicable in the following

areas: a) legal appeals aimed at preventing planned evictions or demolitions through

the issuance of court-ordered injunctions; b) legal procedures seeking compensation

following an illegal eviction; c) complaints againstillegal actions carried out or

supported by landlords (private or public) in relation to rent levels, dwelling

maintenance and racial or other forms of discrimination;d) allegations of any form of

discrimination in the allocation and availability of access to housing; e) complaints

against landlords concerning unhealthy or inadequate housing conditions; and, class

action suits in situations involving significantly increased levels of homelessness.

What to Do When There is a Violation of Housing Rights

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (4th session) noted that,

"the right to housing can be subject to violation and as such, acts and omissions

constituting violations will need to be explored by the Committee, especially inthe context of evictions". The Committee stated that tolerance by Governments of

forced evictions on their territory constituted a violation of the norms of the Covenant.

On the other hand, the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1993/77

affirmed that, " the practice of forced eviction constitutes a gross violation of human

rights, in particular, the right to adequate housing.

So far, the UN has only considered violation of housing rights in the context of forcedevictions either conducted or tolerated by the State. Likewise, the Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has not yet create formal mechanisms by which

individuals could submit complaints alleging non-compliance by their Governments

with their housing rights.

Since there is no formal mechanisms to lodge complaints with regards to housing

rights violation, affected persons and groups can work with NGOs which are active at

the annual sessions of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and

can draw the attention of the Committee to practices and legislation of State Parties

that are inconsistent with the obligations of the Covenant.

Likewise, the complaint mechanisms under the International Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Fact Sheet Nos. 7, 12), the the

Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Fact Sheet Nos.7,15),

the Convention on the Rights of the Child (revised Fact Sheet No. 10), the Economic

and Social Council resolution 1503 procedure and the enforcement mechanisms of the



ILO could be used by persons alleging that they are victims of certain types of

housing rights violations.

Furthermore, specific issues and cases relating to the right to adequate housing can be

raised by people or entities in various UN Forums such as the Sub-Commission on

Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, the Commission onHuman Rights (either directly or through its country-oriented Special Rapporteurs or

Working Groups, if appropriate), the Economic and Social Council and the General

Assembly.

Role of Non-Governmental Organizations, Groups and Individuals

Both international and local NGOs can be key actors in the promotion and

enforcement of the right to adequate housing. At the local and national level, NGOs

can carry out various initiatives to promote the realization of the right to adequate

housing through:

publication and polurarization of the Covenant on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights particularly to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.

participation in the reporting process engaged in by the government

provision of legal education, training and advice with the purpose of informing

poor people of their right and how to enforce them

For individuals, groups and other NGOs without consultative status with the UN can

forward their concerns to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and

other UN bodies dealing with housing rights issues through NGOs that haveconsultative status, as these entities have rights of participation in the UN system.

Individuals or groups can also send information about violations by any State party of

any rights found in the Covenant directly to the Secretary of the Committee at the

Centre for Human Rights as these communications are distributed to Committee

members.

(Source: People's Decade of Human Rights Education docum

philippine laws on housing and human settlements.docx

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