MANILA — The House of Representatives on Wednesday night ratified the bicameral conference committee report on a measure creating the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
The Lower House approved the reconciled version of House Bill No. 6775 and Senate Bill No. 1578, or the Social Security Act of 2018.
Once ratified by both chambers of Congress, the measure shall be transmitted to Malacañang for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature.
The bill seeks to create the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development by merging the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).
The new department is mandated to act as the primary national government entity responsible for the management of housing, human settlement, and urban development.
It shall be responsible for the implementation of a rational, well-balanced, orderly and efficient redevelopment of urban communities and the development of new settlements in rural and non-farm areas to assure dwellers of decent and affordable housing, job and livelihood opportunities, efficient mass transit, public safety, health care, educational opportunities, and clean environment.
The bill proposes to reconstitute the HLURB into an adjudicatory body called Human Settlements Adjudication Commission, which shall adjudicate on all issues and controversies arising from the interpretation and implementation of the “Urban Development and Housing Act” (Republic Act No. 7279).
The bill also aims to rationalize and coordinate the functions of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, Home Guaranty Corporation, Home Development Mutual Fund, and National Housing Authority. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
