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Ending housing backlog: Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, chairperson of the Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement, presides over a public hearing on proposals to extend the corporate life of the National Housing Authority (NHA). According to Ejercito, the committee had already conducted a hearing and a technical working group on the extension of the life of the NHA, including some consultative meetings on how to improve the agency. However, the senator said he opted to conduct another hearing to ensure that all the voices of stakeholders and concerned organizations are heard. “We want to make sure that the committee’s version of this bill will contain provisions that will help reduce the housing shortage in the country. Our goal is to ensure that there are no more squatters in our country,” Ejercito said Tuesday, March 19, 2024. As the construction arm of the Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development, Ejercito said the NHA plays a big role in ending the problem of lack of decent housing. He pegged the housing backlog in the country at six million houses. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)