MaeAnn Los Baños, News5
At a legislative hearing, senators and members of the House of Representatives asked leaders and members of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap, or KADAMAY, to pitch in some financial equity toward the housing units that they will be occupying in lieu of the original housing awardees from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police.
The houses, it was stressed, should not be treated as an absolute dole out proposition.
But Gloria Arellano, Chairperson of KADAMAY, countered that the human settlement initiative ought to include the provision of livelihood, for, otherwise, she asked, where would the housing beneficiaries get the money to pay for the dwellings?
Came the rejoinder from Bulacan 2nd District Representative Gavini Pancho: If the houses are to be awarded to Kadamay at no cost, then the other incumbent legitimate beneficiaries already residing there would certainly ask for the same treatment.
Arellano replied philosophically: Why, just who was it that got us all into this situation, where there is corruption left and right, and crime? Attention ought to be on solving poverty and not putting pressure on the poor.
She added that mismanagement by the National Housing Authority should be to blame for the poor execution of the mass housing program, the shoddy workmanship in building the houses, and the disadvantageous locations of the resettlement sites and huge gaps in the delivery of basic human settlement services in these sites.
This, she pointed out, partly explains why there are so few takers even among the military and law enforcer beneficiaries.
Click and watch the video report below:
