ANGARA URGES PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IN HOUSING

Senator Edgardo J. Angara lamented the lack of funding for the country's housing agencies during the deliberations for the 2012 National Budget.

Only a total of P6.975 billion is allocated for the housing agencies led by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said Angara. The National Housing Authority will get P5.63 billion of the total while the HUDCC, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, Home Guaranty Corporation, National Home Mortgage Corporation will share the rest.

"Every year, the Philippines operates under a budget deficit. One of the best ways to deal with this deficit is to invite investment from the private sector," said Angara, Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

Angara cited the need for P361 billion from now until 2016 to provide housing assistance to 1.5 million Filipinos. He said that the country's housing backlog can be filled by encouraging the involvement of companies in the private housing and banking sectors.

"Housing is one of the foremost creators of jobs in the country. Investing in housing translates not just to more houses for Filipinos, but also more employment and more income," said the veteran lawmaker.

Angara continued, "Every 100 jobs generated in the housing sector creates an additional 18 jobs in ancillary industries, requiring only P6,504 to create one job. Every P1 investment in construction also yields an additional economic output of almost P2."

Angara authored and pushed for the passage of some of the country's most memorable laws, including the Free High School Act, Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skill Development Authority (TESDA), the National Health Insurance Act (Philhealth), Senior Citizens Act, the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), the Renewable Energy Act and the Procurement Reform Act.