Aired (November 24, 2024): Walang pinto, bintana, at tila nasisira na — ganito ang kondisyon ng milyon-milyong pisong halaga ng housing project ng gobyerno na nakatiwangwang at tinubuan na ng matataas na talahib. Pero ang mga proyekto, declared as “completed” na.
Paano humantong sa ganitong sitwasyon ang mga housing project na pinondohan ng kaban ng bayan? Paano nga ba ginastos ang pera?
NASAAN ANG PERA?
Paano humantong sa ganitong sitwasyon ang mga housing project na pinondohan ng kaban ng bayan? Paano nga ba ginastos ang pera?
NASAAN ANG PERA?
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FunTranscript
00:00The dream of every family is to have a decent and independent house and land.
00:10The government is building houses for the poor.
00:15But according to the reporter's notebook,
00:21some housing projects are in disrepair.
00:26High-rise buildings are being built and are slowly being destroyed.
00:33This is one of the housing units that they say is already completed.
00:37The walls are just basic coating.
00:40The bathroom, aside from the tiles being broken, there is no bathroom.
00:46Here in the bathroom, as you can see, there is no toilet bowl.
00:53The story of some of the residents that we talked to,
00:56to be able to live, they were forced to spend their own money
01:02to fix the housing unit that they moved.
01:06How did these housing projects that are worth millions of pesos end up like this?
01:13It's already destroyed because there is no one left.
01:16The other side is also in ruins.
01:19Life is really hard here. Life is crying here.
01:24Is it like this every day?
01:26Yes, I cry.
01:28Why?
01:30The situation.
01:32Here is his list.
01:36My list of debts.
01:40Each project was funded by the country's money.
01:44That's why we should investigate and ask, where is the money?
01:59In Barangay Pinugay, Baras, Rizal, a housing project was visited by Reporters' Notebook.
02:051,500 units can be found here.
02:09But this is a ghost town.
02:13The housing units have no doors, windows.
02:19There is no proper background.
02:24And it is already covered with thick plants and high tiles.
02:29This is the two Inares Residences.
02:32In the document obtained by Reporters' Notebook from the National Housing Authority or NHA,
02:37the project started on July 2019.
02:41Its original completion date is March 3, 2021.
02:45But it is also included in the document that it was changed and the completion date is now October 2023.
02:51The value of the housing project is more than Php 800 million.
02:55But a year has passed and the houses are still not occupied.
03:03Outside the housing project, we met the resident, Mr. Reinaldo Laguera.
03:09He has been living as a farmer in Barangay Pinugay for 30 years.
03:14It started since the pandemic started.
03:17Mr. Reinaldo wonders why there are still no houses in Barangay Pinugay.
03:22Mr. Reinaldo wonders why there are still no houses in Barangay Pinugay.
03:27A lot of people go there just to look around.
03:30Maybe they are just inquiring.
03:32Since then, no one has come back.
03:34And there is no one living there.
03:35The tiles are already broken.
03:37The people who live there are working.
03:39For example, the door.
03:42That's why it's a mess.
03:44And they will put it there if there are people there.
03:46Because it was stolen.
03:48Like the door.
03:49If you leave the door there, when you come back, it's gone.
03:53The question is,
03:54why are there still not occupying almost 2,000 housing units?
04:00We asked the NHA.
04:03It turns out that the housing project was approved for informal settlers
04:07who will be affected by the cleaning of Manila Bay
04:10according to the Mandamus Order of the Supreme Court.
04:13But the problem is,
04:15One of the hampers of relocation
04:20is that in the past administration, in 2019,
04:24the DILG Circular issued a mandate
04:27that before we move,
04:29there must be a memorandum of agreement
04:35by and between the sending and the receiving.
04:38The problem is,
04:40it's not done by the sending and the receiving.
04:46So that's where the problem is.
04:48That's why there was a total halt
04:50in our relocation.
04:54We also asked the local government of Baras Rizal.
04:58Our town has a population of 80,000.
05:01So the only thing we know is the basic services of our town.
05:06So if we are going to move 80,000 people to Baras,
05:12what are the basic services that we will provide?
05:16That's for those who are going to move.
05:19But the contra to those who will move here,
05:23it's not me.
05:24But it's not just here,
05:26there are housing units in Baras Rizal.
05:30Just a few kilometers from the two Inares residences,
05:33another housing project, Hermosaville, will be found.
05:37In the document obtained by Reporters Notebook
05:39from the NHA Region 4,
05:41October 2022,
05:43this project was declared completed
05:46and is worth Php 731 million.
05:51This housing project has 1,368 units.
05:54But if you include the whole housing project,
05:57most of the units are on rent.
06:00Because as of October 2024,
06:02only 545 units are occupied.
06:05This housing project was built for the residents
06:08affected by the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project.
06:15One of the residents of Hermosaville,
06:17is 37-year-old Julia Don.
06:20She moved to this housing project in June this year
06:23from their house,
06:24under the bridge in Cainta Rizal.
06:27How was your situation in Cainta?
06:30Were you flooded?
06:31Yes, we were flooded.
06:33We were always the first to be flooded.
06:36Because we lived under a bridge.
06:40How did you feel when you saw that you have a housing unit?
06:44Of course, we were happy.
06:46But when we were cleaning,
06:50we were about to enter,
06:52but the doors and tiles suddenly rose.
06:57So we had to replace them.
06:59And the doorknob...
07:01It didn't close?
07:03No.
07:04That's why Julia had to clean up the mess in the house.
07:09This is what I did to my husband.
07:12He locked the door.
07:14He couldn't open it.
07:16So I fixed it for him.
07:18This is how he is now.
07:20He's a mess.
07:21When we got there, we just cleaned it up.
07:24And those tiles,
07:26they rose.
07:28So the door closed.
07:31That's why I fixed it.
07:34Julia is with her husband, Juan,
07:37their seven children,
07:38and two grandchildren.
07:40How did they get along?
07:41They are next to each other inside the house.
07:44One is on the floor.
07:47As long as they get along.
07:50Aside from the damage to the house,
07:56they also have a problem with the loss of a loved one.
08:00My husband works in a farm.
08:04When he comes here,
08:06he goes down to work.
08:11Since Julia's husband hasn't sent anything yet,
08:13she had to borrow money from the store.
08:17Here you go, ma'am.
08:21Two eggs and two cups of coffee.
08:25Is it really 100 pesos?
08:27Yes, here's the list.
08:29That's a lot.
08:30It's a lot of money.
08:33How much is it?
08:35It's only for today.
08:37It's just breakfast for my children.
08:39And then they bring the coffee.
08:41They bring it.
08:43The two noodles were prepared by ten members of the family.
08:49Are you the last one to eat?
08:51Yes.
08:52Who's left?
08:53No one.
08:54No one.
08:55I'll wait for the night if there's any.
08:58It's really hard here.
09:00It makes me cry.
09:02Is it like that every day?
09:04Yes.
09:05I cry.
09:06Because?
09:08Because of the situation.
09:11The situation.
09:14Because if you don't find something to eat,
09:17sometimes if there's no food,
09:22you can just borrow milk from the store.
09:28They also have a problem with the lack of facilities in the house.
09:32This is the daycare.
09:35This is where the school is.
09:39But until now?
09:41Nothing.
09:42Nothing.
09:43That's why they said that the school should be prioritized before the covered court.
09:48It's noteworthy that there's no health center in the housing project.
09:53There's a barangay here.
09:55You can ask for help.
09:57But they bring you to the morong if you don't have money.
10:02It's just a story.
10:03The school will be completed.
10:05But we don't rush because we're still new.
10:10But I really want to have a school.
10:12That's why people come here.
10:15The school.
10:16And buying vegetables.
10:18That's the hardest part here.
10:21This is the farm.
10:24This is what we're going to do.
10:26Once it's done, we'll remove it.
10:29We'll plant it while it's not done.
10:32So that we can benefit from it.
10:34It's also stated in the document that aside from the three-story school building,
10:38covered court,
10:40livelihood training center,
10:42health center,
10:43and more,
10:44there should also be a materials recovery facility or MRF in Hermosaville.
10:50But in our continuous visit here,
10:53the garbage is just piled up in a vacant lot.
10:59We're already dropping garbage there.
11:01Because we know what day the garbage will be dropped.
11:05That's why we're throwing it there.
11:06But the problem with others is,
11:08when they enter the house,
11:10because they're in the countryside,
11:11they don't stay in their house.
11:14So when they leave,
11:16they throw garbage even if it's not the day of the dump.
11:20But why are the facilities inside the housing project of the NHA not enough?
11:26The housing budget is separate.
11:28The budget of the community facilities is different.
11:32So in this project,
11:33our budget for community facilities is not enough.
11:39What do you want to say?
11:44I just want to have a livelihood.
11:48For all of us.
11:49I'm not the only one you can help.
11:52All of us.
11:53Because all the people here,
11:55even if you say the house is beautiful,
11:57but when it comes to livelihood,
12:00the people here are poor.
12:02It's just beautiful to look at,
12:03our house.
12:04But it's really hard.
12:09These shortcomings are the reason why Evangeline Agdepa
12:13moved to Hermosoville.
12:19Their family lives under a bridge in Cainta, Rizal.
12:22This is what they will do.
12:24They will move to the other side.
12:30They need to do this
12:32so that they can finish their project.
12:37They are among the beneficiaries of the housing project.
12:40We don't want to do this
12:42because our livelihood is far away.
12:45She is with her daughter and two grandchildren who are studying at home.
12:49Their school is just a 5-minute walk from their house.
12:54When my two grandchildren are studying,
12:57I will take care of them.
13:00That day,
13:01we found out that Evangeline was pregnant.
13:05This is our livelihood, ma'am.
13:08Our buyers are coming to buy from us.
13:13This is our livelihood.
13:16She is expected to earn 500 pesos per 100 pieces of land.
13:23This is what Evangeline will do
13:26if she moves to the housing project in Baras, Rizal.
13:35As we continue our tour in Hermosoville,
13:38we discovered another housing unit that is on the roof.
13:42No one lives there.
13:44It is surrounded by thick walls
13:48and is slowly being destroyed.
13:51This is not the first housing project built by Reporters Notebook.
13:55Until now,
13:56this is the type of housing project that we are reaching.
14:01This is one of the houses that can be moved.
14:05According to the housing package cost and monthly amortization that we received,
14:11the beneficiary will pay Php 499,653
14:17within three decades.
14:19The bathroom,
14:20other than the tiles being destroyed,
14:23there is no bathroom.
14:24Here in the CR,
14:25there is no toilet bowl.
14:27The story of some of the residents that we talked to,
14:30in order to live,
14:32they were forced to spend their own money
14:36to fix the housing unit that they will move.
14:41In the first year,
14:42it is still free to live here in Hermosoville.
14:44But in the following years,
14:46they need to pay Php 600 per month
14:50within 30 years
14:52until the housing unit is worth Php 500,000,000.
14:57Why are there still a lot of non-occupied housing units?
15:01Supposedly, some parts of it
15:03come from Taytay.
15:05However,
15:06the Taytay residents
15:07don't want to go off-city.
15:10They opted to be in-city.
15:14Reporters Notebook also watched
15:16the contractor of the housing project.
15:18Is this completed for you or not?
15:21Not yet, ma'am.
15:22Not yet?
15:23It is completed as housing construction, ma'am.
15:25Completed as housing?
15:27Construction and development.
15:30So where are the bathrooms and toilets?
15:33They are with us, ma'am.
15:34They are for installation in the units.
15:36For installation.
15:37And this, ma'am.
15:38This is the level of payment
15:40from the general contractor, ma'am.
15:42We will provide for the units
15:44where the beneficiaries are.
15:46The funds are with us, ma'am.
15:49But where did the funds go?
15:52Where is the money?
15:54NHA will clarify.
15:56When we say fully completed,
15:58it is not 100% disbursed.
16:00Our disbursement there,
16:02if they requested a billing,
16:06there is a 10% retention left for them.
16:09We do not immediately pay.
16:11But we declare it as fully completed
16:14because the unit is ready
16:16so that when the person relocates,
16:18we will attach the detachables.
16:22You have disbursed 90%
16:25of the total project cost.
16:28Yes, ma'am.
16:29So 10% is basically your debt to them.
16:32Yes, ma'am.
16:34Not only in Baras Rizal,
16:36you can see the abandoned,
16:38dilapidated and damaged houses.
16:43In Naikavite,
16:44Parkstone Estates can also be found.
16:49In the document we got from NHA Region 4,
16:52this project has 2,300 units.
16:56But as of September 2024,
16:59only 630 units are occupied.
17:04July 18, 2022,
17:06the date of completion of the project
17:08and the value is more than Php 1 billion.
17:14One of the residents of Parkstone Estates
17:17is the family of Roselle Orgonia.
17:19March 2021,
17:21when her family moved
17:23from a village in Binondo, Manila.
17:26Inside the unit, it is okay.
17:29But our electricity,
17:31it's a month before we installed it.
17:33The water is smelly.
17:36It's like a mess.
17:40Php 750 per month is the payment for the first year.
17:44But it will increase in the next 5 years
17:47until the unit's value reaches Php 400,000.
17:52Roselle accompanied us
17:54to look for some vacant units in the house.
17:57This place is 30 plus.
18:00This place is also 30 plus.
18:01They are 60 plus.
18:02This is broken.
18:04The unit is broken.
18:05When we moved it,
18:07it's a mess.
18:09It's a mess.
18:10The window is broken.
18:13This is how we installed it.
18:16It's a mess.
18:18We are the only ones who cleaned it.
18:20We filled it with water.
18:23Why are there still many unoccupied housing units
18:27in Parkstone Estates?
18:29NHA Region 4 explains.
18:32These are what we call old inventories.
18:35It was a crossover during the PBBM era.
18:38Now, there are several units
18:41that we are finishing now.
18:44Maybe around 200 units.
18:46We can't change the design
18:49because the contract specifies that it will look like that.
18:54We also interviewed the developer of the housing project.
18:57They called the NHA.
18:58It's good for our awarding
19:01so that we can live here.
19:03Our losses are increasing.
19:04If the house is awarded,
19:06I hope they can live here.
19:07It's a waste.
19:09We also showed to a structural engineer
19:12the housing projects that the reporters visited.
19:16Cracks appearing like this must be checked by the developer,
19:21by the structural engineer
19:22because the vegetation that's growing around unnecessarily
19:26may cause the foundation to move.
19:29It may cause those kinds of cracks.
19:31The house is very exposed
19:34to further deterioration.
19:36First of all, it doesn't have a door.
19:39It can be entered by animals.
19:41And exposed to weather,
19:43the water can spill
19:45and seep into the walls,
19:47columns, and structural elements.
19:49There should be a proper feasibility study
19:52to make sure that there will be people
19:55that will occupy your project.
19:57Otherwise, it's a waste of money.
19:59You don't spend just to have projects.
20:01You spend to make the people comfortable.
20:07According to the United Nations Human Settlements Program,
20:11or UN-HABITAT,
20:12the Philippines has 6.5 million housing backlogs.
20:18To address this,
20:19the government proposed the Pambansang Pabahay
20:22for the Filipino Program, or 4PH.
20:27The government's target is to make 3.2 million housing projects
20:32until 2028.
20:34Currently, there are 535 ongoing housing projects
20:38or equivalent to 1.2 million housing units.
20:42The estimated cost of the project is 1.2 million.
20:46Correct, 1.65 trillion pesos.
20:51The problem is,
20:52there are a lot of Filipino families
20:54who don't have proper housing.
20:56Why are they allowed to live in tents
20:58and are not able to provide for their families?
21:02We are speeding up the construction of the project.
21:07We are also speeding up the transfer of people
21:11so that we can close the project easily.
21:15We are trying our best.
21:18Due to the problems of off-city housing,
21:22one of the government's solutions
21:25is the construction of in-city housing.
21:28This is a condominium-type house
21:31that will cost Php 4,000 per month.
21:35But some say it's not affordable.
21:39What did the government do?
21:41They increased the cost to make it affordable.
21:44They lowered the monthly amortization.
21:46If the monthly amortization is lowered,
21:48the poor will be able to pay.
21:50If they are identified,
21:51it will still go through our site evaluation
21:53if it's allowed or not.
21:55We also have a community-based initiative approach
21:58wherein the community itself
22:00recommends the area where they want to transfer.
22:05However, normally, they choose an expensive one.
22:09Sometimes, the site evaluation falls.
22:13But we have such processes.
22:20There are millions of Filipinos
22:21who don't have decent housing.
22:25But despite this,
22:27there are thousands of houses that are left uninstalled.
22:32The government spent money on the houses.
22:36So it should be monitored
22:39and ensured that it is used properly.
22:43Next Saturday,
22:45a flood control project worth millions of pesos
22:49suddenly collapsed.
22:54I am Mackie Pulido.
22:56I am Dune Veneration.
22:58And these are the reporters of UPO.