22 March 2006

VICE President and concurrent Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chairman Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro urged members of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) to provide housing programs for their employees.

HOUSING FOR EMPLOYEES URGED. Vice President and concurrent Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chairman Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro delivers his keynote address during the 27^th National Conference of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) at the Manila Hotel. De Castro encouraged employers to provide housing for their employees, as this will contribute to employment stability, industrial peace, and ultimately to national development. From left: Atty. Ancheta Tan, President Emiritus ECOP; Director Linda Wirth, ILO Sub-Regional Office for Asia & Pacific; DOLE Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas; Atty. Rene Soriano, ECOP President; and Atty. Miguel Varela, ECOP Chairman. (ovp photo by Egay Montaña 5/22/06)

Such programs would be a big contribution to the national housing program, De Castro said during the 27^th ECOP National Conference held at the Manila hotel yesterday.

“More importantly, your employees will thank you for a lifetime if you provide shelter to them and to their families,” De Castro said.

De Castro said there are many models of employer-initiated and employee supported housing programs that provide non-wage benefits to workers. These programs, he said, will eventually contribute to employment stability and industrial peace.

For his part, the Vice President said he is committing the government sector’s cooperation with the initiatives that ECOP and its member companies may want to pursue.

“As long as these initiatives are within the framework of sustainable housing, we will be there to work with you,” he said.

De Castro called on the employers to help the government in its nation-building efforts particularly in the housing sector as he admitted that the private, like in any other sector of the economy, is still the real engine of development.

But to show that the government is doing its part, De Castro also cited the gains that the government achieved in the housing sector.

From 2001 to 2004, De Castro said the government has already provided shelter security units to 882,000 households. Last year, a total of 103,000 housing units worth P25 billion were provided by the government.

“Malaking bagay ito subalit ako na ang nagsasabi sa inyo na hindi ito sapat. This is only 34 percent of the targeted 300,000 housing units that we’re aiming yearly under the medium-term Philippine Development Plan,” he said.

To further boost the national housing program, De Castro brought up the idea of joint housing programs with the support of other private sector organizations and development-oriented multilateral institutions. He cited the Asian Development Bank-funded development of urban poor communities where urban poor communities all over the country are given financial assistance for slum upgrading, housing, and micro-enterprise development.

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