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Database of housing beneficiaries: Sen. Nancy Binay asks housing officials for a list or database of beneficiaries of government housing programs which, she says, is one way to prevent or stop professional squatting syndicates. During Monday’s hybrid hearing of the Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement November 28, 2022 on several resettlement and shelter measures, Binay said that during the time of his father, then Vice President Jejomar Binay as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), a database was developed where a list of names who benefitted from housing projects were registered. Usec. Avelino Tolentino of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), the predecessor of HUDCC, said shelter agencies have Alpha lists of beneficiaries but these agencies had a hard time connecting their lists with that of the local government units. Tolentino said this will require a lot of work – warm bodies and a lot of resources – to fully digitalize the lists. “I think, Mr. Chair, this Alpha listing is a good program that needs thorough studies and funding,” Binay suggested. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)