10 years after Yolanda: Housing backlog still at over 30K units

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MORE than a full decade after Typhoon Yolanda devastated seven regions in the country in 2013, government auditors found that the National Housing Authority (NHA) still has a backlog of 30,806 housing units under the Yolanda Permanent Housing Project (YPHP).

This means that out of the planned 202,036 housing units planned under the program, only 171,230 shelters have been completed.

Even for the completed houses, auditors found 32,845 units that remain unoccupied due to various reasons, including problems with documentation or property titles and absence of basic support facilities, including water supply and power.

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Other causes cited for low occupancy were lack of roads or means of transportation, shortage of livelihood opportunities, and poor construction design/materials.

“The slow progress has been primarily attributed to suspensions, delays, terminations, budget realignments, and budget constraints of the projects, depriving beneficiaries of their homes that were destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda,” the audit team said.

Auditors found that out of the P32.057 billion allotments for the YPHP, P6.456 billion was realigned for other projects unrelated to the Yolanda shelters, principally the construction of regular resettlement of military and police personnel.

Likewise, delays in the implementation adversely affected the budget, resulting in the reduction of the number of units in various designated locations.

Among these were the P200.31 million Hernani Town Villa Sites 1 to 3, which was reduced from 989 units to just 713; the P178.99 million Gen. MacArthur Townville, which was downgraded from 300 to 234 units; and the P99.85 million Balangiga Town Ville with the planned 460 homes decreased to 383.

“As at December 31, 2023, 19 YPHP projects remain without houses built, one of the reasons of which is insufficient funding. Despite the government allotting an adequate budget for YPHP, a portion of it was authorized to be redirected to other programs that required funding for their completion, resulting in delays and failure to those beneficiaries that were initially intended to be provided with housing units,” the Commission on Audit (COA) noted.

Between 2020 and 2023, the audit team also pointed out that the NHA revised the number of target units several times covering projects in Regions 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7, 8 and 13.

From the initial objective of 205,128 homes, the number increased to 218,985 in 2020 but dropped to 212,618 in 2021; 210,317 in 2022; and 202,036 as of 2023.

This was blamed on “escalation of construction material’s prices, budget constraints leading to the incomplete construction of HUs from previously terminated contracts, areas within projects sites deemed unsuitable for construction, unresolved boundary disputes or adverse claims, adjustments in plans to match actual field conditions,” and unsuitability of some locations necessitating substantial earth-filling which further affected the budget.

Review of the overall implementation of the YPHP revealed 37 projects with a total budget of P5.896 billion were still unfinished, 14 projects totaling P2.25 billion were suspended, and 64 projects worth P10.14 billion were terminated.

The unfinished housing projects were blamed on suspension orders, uncooperative weather, surveying and titling issues.

“The suspension of 14 projects with a contract amount of P2.250 billion was attributed to diverse factors, including pending issuance of certificates/permits before construction, variation orders, unsuitability of land for housing construction, shortage of aggregate supply, and halting work while termination procedures,” the COA said.

On the other hand, 64 projects were terminated due mostly to slippages or delays ranging from 313 to 1,702 days. The NHA is rebidding some of these projects.

Addressing the audit observations, the NHA regional offices explained that the project locations had the additional challenges of complying with no build zones and other considerations which made access to existing roads and transport systems difficult.

They pointed out that it is the local government units which had the responsibility of providing transportation options to relocated residents.

For its part, the NHA management assured YPHP housing beneficiaries that any defect in the design and construction including replacement of substandard materials will be addressed through warranty claims and available option under the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Government Procurement Reform Law (RA 9184).

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