DAVAO City Councilor Diosdado Angelo Mahipus Jr. challenged the National Housing Authority (NHA), Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), and other government housing programs to reserve a huge portion of their housing units for those without homes and those who do not have the capacity to pay for housing.
Mahipus, chairperson of the Committee on Housing, Rural and Urban Development (Socialized Housing Projects), said that free housing for the poor should have a system in place that allows beneficiaries to stay in their housing units without amortization and without having to pay any amount. This could be through a Deed of Usufruct arrangement or through other mechanisms that the government may create.
“Dili nato sukdon ang kalampusan sa housing program pinaagi lamang sa gidaghanon sa natukod nga units. Dili nato sukdon kini pinaagi lamang sa collection efficiency o sa gidaghanon sa nakabayad (We should not measure the success of a housing program solely by the number of housing units built. Neither should we measure it solely by collection efficiency or by the number of people who have made payments),” he said during his privilege speech on June 2, 2026, at the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
He said that the true measure of successful housing is not the number of units constructed or how much profit the government earns from these housing projects, but the number of families without homes who are provided with decent dwellings in these structures.
He proposed that the government should allocate funds to projects that provide decent free housing for individuals who do not have homes and for the poor. He said that public funds should be spent on safe and decent housing, especially for the poorest Dabawenyos who do not have the capacity to pay for housing.
He added that the government should allocate funding for programs that would help alleviate the conditions of the marginalized sector or those who need it the most, and that these programs should not be used to profit from the poor.
Mahipus said that many Dabawenyos look to the housing programs of the local government unit (LGU), NHA, SHFC, and other government housing initiatives, as numerous families have been victims of massive fires, demolition, and relocation, among others, which indicates that many Dabawenyos still live in inadequate housing conditions.
The councilor said that for many families, these projects represent more than just structures; they represent security, stability, and the dream that after so many years, they would be able to have their own homes.
He said that although the program has benefited numerous individuals, there are still some sectors where these programs have not reached. He said that multiple individuals belonging to vulnerable sectors applied for the program but did not qualify because of some financial arrangements, including monthly financial obligations that are unaffordable to the poor.
Some of them do not even apply because they believe they do not have the capacity to make the monthly payments.
He said that the 1987 Constitution directs the state to provide decent housing for underprivileged and homeless citizens and that accessibility must mean more than availability. Accessibility must mean that beneficiaries can actually benefit from the program. He said accessibility must mean affordable to all, as accessibility may differ from one family to another, since poverty is not experienced in the same way – some can pay a little while others cannot pay at all.
“If a housing program is intended for the underprivileged and the homeless, then we must honestly ask how accessible it truly is to those it was designed to serve. Because there are families who, despite subsidies and favorable financing arrangements, still find the monthly obligations beyond what they can realistically afford,” he said.
He said that if there are still poor families who cannot benefit from the program, then the government should be willing to explore other mechanisms to ensure that no one is left behind. He said that government housing should not offer units to underprivileged beneficiaries when the units cost more than a million pesos, an amount these same beneficiaries cannot pay.
Mahipus stressed that the government is not a “business”, thus it should not profit from the poor. Its goal should be to provide services to the people, especially those who need help from the state. RGP
