REP. ALEXIE BESAS TUTOR
Bohol 3rd District
Vice-Chair, Committee on Health
Member, Committee on Appropriations
Licensed physical therapist by profession
https://www.facebook.com/Cong.AlexieTutor/ | 09177292437
House Bill 6674 – Balik Probinsya Public Housing and Relocation Act
BALIK PROBINSYA BILL FILED, COMPLEMENTS EO 114
I have filed House Bill 6674 to directly respond to the urgent need for a Balik Probinsya program for the urban poor, especially those in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao. HB 6674 complements and dovetails with Executive Order 114 of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte also about Balik Probinsya.
EO 114 creates the implementing council, identifies agencies, and specifies programs.
We appreciate the swiftness of Malacanang in the issuance of the EO 114 because it also boosts the chances of HB 6674 at becoming law as soon as possible.
HB 6674 goes into the details of methodically identifying beneficiaries by the Philippine Statistics Authority, registering the urban poor for basic government services, and laying out the broad strokes of creating the public housing communities for the beneficiaries.
This bill draws lessons from the first National Migration Survey done in 2018 and the results of which were released last January. This bill is also follow-up legislation to the charter of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
SALIENT FEATURES
HB 6674 addresses the main reasons for the rural-to-urban migration that has spawned thousands of informal settler neighborhoods and more so in the country’s three main metropolises.
The bill lays down the mandate to have ready employment for the beneficiaries, public housing, and the essential components of a functioning, thriving community. Jobs, education, electricity, water, and health services are mandated.
For economic sustainability of the public housing communities, the bill includes mandates for ecozones and tourism enterprise zones as components of the commercial areas of the communities.
The Balik Probinsya program is a medium term solution to the urban congestion and population density of Manila, Cebu, and Davao.
I am hopeful that by Year 2022, the first Balik Probinsya public housing communities would have its first batches of residents settled in. (END)
