Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

WRAP: Woman in Makati drainage highlights lack of affordable housing

Article (news)

Jonathan Frederic De Santos

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17487770493241748777046913.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Members of the social welfare department&#x27;s Pag-abot Team inspect a drainage hole where police said three people had sought temporary shelter in. <em>Department of Social Welfare and Development photo release </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Initially thought to be a prank or corny advertising agency stunt, photos of a woman climbing out of drainage in Makati turned out to be a case of <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/28/more-than-a-mole-man-police-say-3-people-used-makati-drainage-as-shelter-1921">people taking shelter in a culvert</a>.</p><p>The Department of Social Welfare and Development found the woman, &quot;Rose&quot;, and gave her assistance to put up a sari-sari store.</p><p>The potentially heart-warming resolution soon became fodder for jokes on social media about people quitting their jobs to live in canals and wait for P80,000 from the DSWD.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DSWD: AID IS MONITORED</strong></div><p>Responding to criticism, the DSWD said the aid was part of its Pag-Abot Program to help people living on the street get back on their feet. </p><p>The program has helped at least 1,245 people since its launch in 2023, it said on its website. At least 751 street dwellers have moved to care facilities or helped with going back to their home province.</p><p>Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said cases like “Rose” go are evaluated by social workers who also monitor how the aid is spent.</p><p>“Hindi yun buo, in tranches ‘yun, based on the progress ng kaniyang kaso,” he also said.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/31/p80-000-dswd-aid-for-woman-from-sewer-comes-with-monitoring-conditions-2242">P80,000 DSWD aid for woman from sewer ‘comes with monitoring, conditions’<br/></a></div><p>He also assured the public that “there are enough safety nets” to make sure “money being given is not going to the wrong things.”</p><p>DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao, in a press forum, said the department has social welfare programs that Filipinos in need can apply for.</p><p>“<a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/31/dswd-on-memes-about-rose-p80k-small-price-for-new-hope-1545">Hindi na kailangang gawin yung nakita natin or na-witness natin</a>,” she said.</p><p>(People do not need to do what we saw to get assistance.)</p><p>The DSWD implements the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) emergency assistance program, and the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) for low-income Filipinos.</p><p>The Department of Labor and Employment meanwhile has the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) cash-for-work program.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/30/dswd-secretary-issues-fresh-warning-to-politicians-using-aid-distribution-for-campaigning-0030">DSWD Secretary issues fresh warning to politicians using aid distribution for campaigning</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;AYUDA&#x27; SEEN AS HELPFUL, BENEFICIARIES SEEN AS NUISANCES</strong></div><p>A Social Weather Station survey released in January suggests <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/2/10/most-filipinos-find-ayuda-helpful-survey-2330">more than 80 percent of Filipinos</a> find social welfare programs helpful.</p><p>Comments on social media suggest appreciation of and regard for their recipients is much lower, with some equating receiving aid or &#x27;ayuda&#x27; with laziness and a lack of discernment at the ballot box.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17487708553301748770854599.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Tacloban City residents line up before 6 a.m. at a lawmaker&#x27;s district office on March 24, 2025 to seek financial assistance. <br/><em>ABS-CBN News/file </em></span></span></span></div><p>Mimi Doringo, secretary-general of urban poor group Kadamay, said &quot;Rose&quot; should not be seen as a joke but an example of the lack of housing rights in the Philippines.</p><p>Doringo also disagrees with the grant of aid, which she said would be a &quot;consolation&quot; that does not address the lack of decent and affordable housing for poor Filipinos.</p><p>&quot;Hindi tawa, hindi awa, lalong hindi ayuda ang dapat na tugon,&quot; she said.</p><p>(Her situation cannot be addressed by laughter, pity or aid.)</p><p>&quot;Ang katotohanan: ang mga naninirahan sa mga kanal, tulay, riles, at tabing-kalsada ay bunga ng matagal nang kapabayaan,&quot; Doringo said.</p><p>(In truth, the people who live by canals, under bridges, along railways and on the sidewalk are there because they have been neglected for so long.)</p><p>Doringo said the urban poor face the threat of their homes being demolished, with relocation sites — if any are offered — often in remote areas with poor access to utilities and social services.</p><div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/9/housing-target-slashed-by-3-million-units-amid-funding-concerns-neda-chief-1614">Housing target slashed by 3 million units amid funding concerns: NEDA chief</a></div><p>This forces them to leave the relocation sites to seek shelter closer to where they can make a living.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rft53fP1c9w?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>GOVERNMENT HOUSING PROGRAM</strong></div><p>The government launched the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program in 2023 to offer socialized housing chosen for, among other criteria, access to employment opportunities and basic services and facilities.</p><p>The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development has also promised to make in-city and on-site relocation available to the urban poor, whom it said are a priority sector.</p><p>DHSUD, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/23/marcos-to-retain-economic-managers-after-courtesy-resignations-palace-1434">under new leadership after a Cabinet revamp</a>, is looking into also providing support for horizontal, or subdivision-type, socialized housing as well as giving families rent support.</p><p>Despite these, a study by government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://pidswebs.pids.gov.ph/CDN/document/1747574749_6829dfdda89f1.pdf">published in 2024</a> found that many poor families do not earn enough to afford even for socialized housing.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17487771667261748777165281.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Carlos Orit, 67, tends to his six rescue dogs inside a pedicab that also serves as his home along Taft Avenue in Manila. <em>Daniel Dean Jacob, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>Factoring in spending for basic necessities, PIDS researchers found that “even if poor families are given the opportunity to avail socialized housing, they would struggle to pay their amortizations” as they noted land prices have grown faster than wages have.</p><p>Differences in land value also mean that affordable housing would likely be on the fringes of urban areas “or worst in environmentally hazardous areas,” they said.</p><p>Researchers urged the creation of a fund for direct subsidies and public housing construction instead of giving developers tax and interest rate incentives to build housing. </p><p>“Community-based housing initiatives by households themselves have proven success in several cities, particularly in informal settlements,” they also said, adding government can build on these initiatives.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>COMPREHENSIVE CHANGE NEEDED</strong></div><p>The urban poor, Doringo said, also need to get by on wages that are too low.</p><p>Others have to compete for space in marketplaces that favor bigger tenants, or face the loss of their livelihoods to policies like the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.  </p><p>&quot;Kung ayaw ng pamahalaan na maulit pa ang ganitong uri ng trahedya, hindi sapat ang one-time na ayuda,&quot; she said as she called for more funding for public housing.</p><p>(If the government does not want a repeat of this kind of tragic incident, one-time financial assistance is not enough.)</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/6/1/house-urged-to-pass-p200-wage-hike-before-19th-congress-adjourns-1600">House urged to pass P200 wage hike before 19th Congress adjourns<br/></a></div><p>Workers also need a living wage, she said, while those in the informal sector should have assurances that their sources of livelihood will not be taken away. </p><p>Doringo stressed that the government needs to provide a comprehensive solution to the housing crisis, which will include more spending on affordable housing and a ban on demolitions without proper relocation plans.</p><p>&quot;Tao ang maralita, hindi kami mga daga na dadaanin sa pain para  maitaboy,&quot; she said.</p><p>(The poor are people. We are not rats you can bait to drive away.)</p>

<p>Factoring in spending for basic necessities, PIDS researchers found that “even if poor families are given the opportunity to avail socialized housing, they would struggle to pay their amortizations.”</p>

Factoring in spending for basic necessities, PIDS researchers found that “even if poor families are given the opportunity to avail socialized housing, they would struggle to pay their amortizations.”