Innovative Urban Tenure in the Philippines
Various shelter agencies have adopted the provision of tenure security as a major thrust. The NHA provides tenure security to resettled communities, while the Social Housing Finance Corporation assists smaller communities to gain tenure in their existing sites. Some NGO networks have helped communities resist illegal and forcible evictions and advocate better conditions in resettlement sites. A number assist in organizing communities to access government housing finance programmes such as the CMP. Urban poor communities have formed issue-based movements and national coalitions to advance general urban poor causes. Land professionals, planners, architects and engineers are involved in land tenure programmes as individuals rather than as groups or professional associations. They usually serve as technical consultants to NGOs, communities, and local governments. The Community Mortgage Program
“
Since its inception in 1989 up till May 2010, the CMP has assisted 217,929 households...
”
Republic Act 7279 or UDHA adopted the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) as a component of the National Shelter Program to help legally organized associations of underprivileged and homeless citizens buy and develop land, and own lots they occupy or wish to relocate to “under the concept of community ownership.” Through the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) and from legislated budgetary appropriation, the CMP extends funds to the community association for the purchase of such lands. The CMP also offers loans for site improvement and house construction. Of the current housing approaches, the CMP gives the highest degree of land tenure security through ownership without necessitating the transfer of informal settlers to areas far from their employment and essential urban services. But the CMP has some limitations. A community organization applying for a CMP loan has to comply with documentary and organizational requirements which could take several months to a few years to accomplish. Long processing times delay payments to landowners, prompting some to withdraw their offer to sell to the community associations. Still, since its inception in 1989 up till May 2010, the CMP has assisted 217,929 households and disbursed Php8.5 billion in loan assistance. Presidential land proclamations The disposition of government-owned lands to their informal settler occupants through a land proclamation has been an established policy and practice in the Philippines for providing secure tenure to urban informal settlers. The proclamation usually takes the form of an executive order issued by the President. But some presidential proclamations also involve privately-owned lands which the national government could acquire through expropriation or a simple negotiated purchase, and then dispose to the intended beneficiaries. Among the recognized benefits of presidential land proclamations are the simplification of the process of providing security to informal settlers from
10