A SURVEY OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM
AND NEEDS IN METROPOLITAN MANILA

Thesié for the Degree of M. U. P.
«MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
RENATO NOCON RIVERA
1970

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ABSTRACT

A SURVEY OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM AND NEEDS
IN METROPOLITAN MANILA

BY

Renato Nocon Rivera

Although urbanization in the Philippines encom-
passes more cities than just Manila, the dominant position
occupied by this city merit closer attention. Historical
and geographical circumstances have made it resemble its
Southeast Asian counterparts, like Jakarta, Saigon or
Burma. Manila and its environs now harbors more than
3.6 million people which is nine times greater than the
next largest city in the Philippines. Unlike Western
cities which share among them the major functions of large
urban settlements, Manila monopolizes all these functions.
It is the political, administration, transportation,
religion, education and recreational center of the
country--a phenomenon known as the primate city.

This rapid urbanization has resulted in numerous
problems which is of greater magnitude and grave national
concern. The very fact that peOple have to live together

1

Renato Nocon Rivera

in close proximity implies a highly complex organization
of activities and system to integrate the technological,
political, economic and social domains. This complexity
often leads to a breakdown in the over-all system when
parts fail to function properly with one another. One
concrete example is the problem of housing which is
evident not only in Manila and its environs but in all
urban centers of the country. As a result, cities are
littered with blighted areas which breed equally serious
problem.

Some authorities in the field of Philippine
sociology believe that the problem should be attacked in
such a manner that solutions will contribute maximally to
the over-all plans of social and economic deve10pment of
the country. The author has been more eager to examine
the housing problem and needs in MetrOpolitan Manila in
order to deve10p a basis of knowledge and provide a help-
ful background for those willing to do some further invest-
igation in this subject matter. Thus, this thesis attempts
to accomplish two major objectives: (1) to provide a
comprehensive knowledge of the magnitude and complexities
of the housing problem in Metropolitan Manila; and (2) to
forward some recommendations that may touch on some areas
where creative ideas have not yet been injected.

2

Renato Nocon Rivera

There have been several studies conducted in
Asia's metropolitan areas concerning their major difficul—
ties in relation to housing. These can be summarized in

the following judgments:

"The problems of the urban environment and of
housing are perhaps worse in Asia than in any
other part of the world. Their consequences and
symptoms are social maladjustments and drastic
physical changes evident in slums and environ-
mental blight."1

"It would appear that the housing situation in
many cities, particularly in Asia, has actually
deteriorated in recent years, since new building
has not kept up with the natural increase in urban
p0pulation, let alone the flow of migrants."2

"Because of overcrowding and inability to provide

essential facilities and services, many cities in

Asia are developing at the point of serious dis-

economies in production, as well as over-straining

their function of relieving rural under-employment

and setting the pace for national develOpment."3

The above findings clearly illustrate that the

study of housing is not something that can be studied by
itself. The problem of housing are closely interlinked

with many other factors.

 

1Report by the Director General, 1956
UNESCO/SS/19., p. 25.

2United Nations, The World Social Situation,
New York, 1957, p. 20.

3Report by the Director General, op, cit., p. 20.
3

Renato Nocon Rivera

This thesis, then, is develOped in such a way that
Chapter One illustrates some important background
characteristics vital for housing deve10pment in Metro-
politan Manila. As a result of the spread of physical
deve10pment and economic reliance of the adjoining cities
and towns to the City of Manila, a metrOpolis was formed.
These municipalities are autonomous local units and,
administratively, they are independent from each other.
The administrative organization of these municipalities,
their relationship to the national government, its physical
setting and the prevailing climate affect housing. In the
same vein, the urbanization process is discussed thoroughly
as a historical factor that influences the present housing
development.

Chapter Two discusses the several factors that
accelerates the increase of population in MetrOpolitan
Manila, and the consequences resulting in social and
economic dislocations.

Chapter Three defines the extent of the problem
of slums and squatting, and its social by-products. An
analysis of these problems brought out the reasons why
slum dwellers and squatters stay in some areas. This
includes the accessibility to places of employment, the

4

Renato Nocon Rivera

availability of undevelOped lands and the willingness,

for various reasons, of owners to accomodate those people.
The above problems are analyzed and governmental

efforts to solve them are given. Finally, some general

recommendations are offered, pointing out possible

approaches in meeting the housing problem and needs. In

summary, they are as follows:

- Formulation and adOption of a.definite housing
policy.

- Reorganization of government agencies engaged
in housing activities plus the steps to be taken
in accomplishing these reforms.

- Creation of a new Department of Housing as the
primary government housing agency to undertake
housing programs.

- Additional recommendations, such as programs
of relocation, resettlement, urban community

development, and the effective implementation
of Land Reform.

A SURVEY OF THE HOUSING PROBLEM AND NEEDS

IN METROPOLITAN MANILA

BY

Renato Nocon Rivera

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER IN URBAN PLANNING

School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture

1970

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

From the start of my studies in Michigan State
University, Professor Charles Barr was a most inspiring
and helpful adviser. Professor Barr's inestimable help,
professional and personal, made this thesis possible, not
to mention the books, pamphlets and materials that were
all carefully listed.

My other professors--Professor Sanford Farness,
Professor Keith Honey, Professor Richard Anderson, and
Professor Myles Boylan, Director--unceasingly aided me
and made my stay at the University worthwhile. To all
these mentors and friends I am deeply grateful.

I am also indebted to Mr. Bartolome Rivera,
Architect Geronimo Manahan of the Institute of Planning,
University of the Philippines, Engineer Napoleon Cuasay
of Quezon City Engineers' Office, and other persons in
Manila, who have contributed in gathering materials and
informations.

Special credit for the graphics used goes to
Architect Rodolfo Cuasay of the University of Santo
Tomas, Manila.

ii

Finally, I thank my sister, Rebecca, for her
constant encouragement and inspiration. The pleasant
company of my friends, who knew when I should have my

regular breaks, with them, is much appreciated.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT S O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O i i
LI ST OF TABLES O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Vi

LIST OF FIGURES O O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O Vii

CHAPTER

I. THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF METROPOLITAN
MANIIIA O O O O O O O I O O O O O O C O O C O 1

Framework of Metropolitan Manila
Physical Setting

Climatic Conditions

Urbanization of MetrOpolitan Manila
Residential DevelOpment Pattern
Government

II. THE IMPACT OF POPULATION: FACTS AND ANALYSIS 24

Natural Increase
Rural to Urban Migration
Rural vs Urban Life
Extended Family System
Other Problems due to the Increase of
POpulation

III. THE HOUSING SITUATION IN METROPOLITAN MANILA 38

Slums and Squatting in Metr0politan Manila

The Effects of Slums and Squatting

Some Interesting Findings About Slum
Dwellers and Squatters

The Geographical Distribution of Squat-
ters and Slum Dwellers.

iv

Table of Contents.--Cont.

CHAPTER

IV.

VI.

Page

ANALYSIS OF HOUSING PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . 53

Land Availability
Economic
Political and Administrative

THE GOVERNMENTAL EFFORTS TOWARD HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT 0 O O I I O O O O O O O O O O O 6 2

Review and Evaluation

CONCLUSION: GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . - 75

The Need for Housing Policy

Reorganization of the Housing Administration
The PrOposed Department of Housing

Specific Types of Housing

The Deve10pment of Residential Communities

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . 92

Relocation

Resettlement

Urban Community DevelOpment
Land Re form

BIBLIOGRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 101

Table

LIST OF TABLES

Actual Size and POpulation of Metro—
p01itan Manila O O O O O O O O O O 0

Population of Metropolitan Manila by
District, City, and Town: 1948-1960

All Dwelling Units by Kind of
Construction Materials: 1960 . . .

Estimated Number of Squatters and Slum
Dwellers in MetrOpolitan Manila: 1968

Estimated Number of Squatters and Slum
Dwellers in the City of Manila: 1968

Types of Housing Scheme . . . . . .

Vi

Page

27

33

42

42
88

LIST OF FIGURES

Geographical Location of the Philippines
Map of the MetrOpolitan Manila . . . . .

Map of the City of Manila Showing its
Districts and Adjacent Municipalities~ .

Monthly Rainfall Distribution in the
Philippines 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

Planning Organization in the Philippines

vii

Page

viii

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CHAPTER I

THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF

METROPOLITAN MANILA

The geographical concept of Metropolitan Manila
is quite permissive of different classifications. The
Philippine Bureau of Census and Statistics, in defining
the framework of MetrOpolitan Manila, include the four
cities of Manila, Quezon, Pasay and Caloocan, and the
suburban towns of Makati, Mandaluyong, Paranaque and
San Juan. Some authorities, however, believe that it
should include in addition to the eight political divi-
sions mentioned above, six other towns, namely: Malabon,
Navotas, Marikina, Pasig, Pateros and Las Pinas.

The issue for an expanded definition of-Metro-
politan Manila also gains attention across the Pacific.
The International Urban Research Center at the University
of California (Berkeley) defines it as composed of "the
cities of Cavite, Manila, Quezon and Rizal (now Pasay);
and the municipalities of Angono, Bacoor, Cainta,
Caloocan (now a city), Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong,
Marikina, Meycauayan, Navotas, Obando, Paranaque, Pasig,

1

Pateros, Polo, San Juan, Taguig, Taytay and Teresa."1
This definition encompasses more municipalities than those
earlier mentioned.

After analysis of the economic and geographical
factors, it is concluded that, for purposes of planning
and administration, six other towns should be included
within Metropolitan Manila in addition to the eight
officially designated political divisions. As an example,
the Metropolitan Water District (a quasi—public corpora-
tion that has now been absorbed into the National Water-
works and Sewerage Authority) offers its services to four-
teen local units, the six additional towns were included.
A survey has also shown that many industrial and manufac-
turing firms have been established outside the eight
municipalities officially recognized as comprising Metro-

politan Manila.

Framework of MetrOpolitan Manila

The foregoing discussions strongly reveal that the
cities,of.ManilaI Quezon, Pasay and Caloocan, and the
suburban towns of Makati, Mandaluyong, Paranaque, San Juan,

Malabon, Navotas, Marikina, Pasig, Pateros and Las Pinas

 

1International Urban Research Center, The World's
Metro olitan Areas (Berkeley & Los Angeles: UfiIversity
of.CaTifornia Press, 1959). p. 89.

 

are within Metr0politan Manila. It has an area of 50,796
hectares (one hectare is equivalent to 2.471 acres), and
a 1960 population of 2,375,266.1 (See Table 1 and

Figure 2). The towns, as well as the cities, are admin-

istratively independent of each other.2

TABLE 1
Actual Size and Population

of Metropolitan Manila

 

Local Area Population Density-per

 

 

Unit (hectares) 1960 hectare
Manila 3,828 1,138,611 297.4
Caloocan City, 5,531 145,523 26.3
Pasay City 1,397 132,673 94.9
Quezon City 16,615 397,990 ‘ 23.9
Las Pinas 4,154 16,093 3.9
Makati 2,986 114,540 38.4

1The 1967 estimated population for MetrOpolitan

Manila is about 3,600,000.

2Cities enjoy much greater taxing powers and mea-
sure of self-government than the towns, which share their
revenues with the province of Rizal of which they are a
part. Towns, in turn, are.subdivided into barrios or
villages of 500 or more inhabitants. These "barrios".
derive part of their revenues by sharing with the towns.
Some cities were formerly towns-and, thus include "barrios"
within their boundaries. This is true with Quezon City.

TABLE 1--Continued

 

Local Area Population Density per

Unit (hectares) 1960 hectare
Malabon 2,337 76,438 32.7
Mandaluyong 2,596 71,619 27.6
Marikina 3,894 40,455 10.4
Navotas 260 47,262 89.5
Paranaque 3,832 61,898 16.2
Pasig 1,297 62,130 47.9
Pateros 1,038 13,173 12.7
San Juan 1,038 56,861 54.8
Total 50,796 2,375,266 46.8

 

Source: Data from the official 1960 Census and the
Report of the Economic Planning Committee for
the Province of Rizal (Pasig: Office of the
Governor, 1962): P. 57.

For administrative and municipal purposes, the

City of Manila is divided into fourteen municipal districts.1

 

1For purposes of national representation, the City
of Manila is also divided into four political districts,
each of which elects one representative to the National
Legislature. Each of these political districts also elects
five councilors to the Municipal Board and act as the legis-
lative body of the City. The political districts are com-
posed of the following: First District--Tondo; Second
District--San Nicolas, Binondo, Quiapo and Sta. Cruz;
Third District--Sampaloc and San Miguel; and, the Fourth
District--Intramuros, Port Area, Ermita, Malate, Pandacan,
Paco and Sta. Ana.

 

 

 

  

   

 

 
 

 

 

 

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FIGURE 2 MAP OF THE METROPOLITAN MANILA

The distribution of these districts are best illustrated
in Figure 3. These municipal districts have been arbi-
trarily used since Spanish times and are respected to the
present day. There were no criteria used in the setting
of boundaries. The City of Manila has an area of 3,828
hectares and a 1960 population of 1,138,611.

When Quezon City was designated as the new Capital
of the Philippines in 1948, its area was increased from
7,380 hectares to 16,615 hectares, which is five times
larger than the City of Manila. It is estimated that
although its population grew eleven times since it was
founded in 1939, only about 10 percent of its land area
has been urbanized.

On the north and south boundaries of Manila lie
the cities of Caloocan and Pasay, respectively. The other,
suburban towns found in the fertile plains are sparsely
populated areas, as compared to Manila, where density
reach more than 100,000 persons per square mile in parts
of Tondo and Sampaloc. The outlying areas provide room
for outward develOpment and because of this condition,
government authorities have found it difficult to justify
high-rise development within the City of Manila, where

land values are relatively high.

 

 

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FIGURE 3 MAP OF THE CITY OF MANILA
SHOWING ITS DISTRICTS AND ADJACENT
MUNICIPALITIES

Physical Setting

 

City of Manila.--The City of Manila lies on the

 

flat curving crescent of Manila Bay on the island of

Luzon, the largest of the 7,100 islands that comprise the
Philippines. The length of the western boundary of the
city, fronting the Manila Bay include the harbors which

are the nation's major ports for international and domestic
shipping, the city's parks, and the broad, tree-lined
highway and bayside promenade. Manila is of low elevation,
rising a few feet above sea level.

The city is traversed by the winding Pasig River
joining Manila Bay to the largest lake in the island,
Laguna de Bay. Over the Pasig River, there are seven
bridges that connects the north and south sides of the
city. Just across the main bridge on the north side is
the central business district. Twenty-seven kilometers
of tributaries branch out of the Pasig River in a network
of "esteros" or canals that are non-navigable. The silt
and refuse from industries and from the squatter families
along its banks have made these canals a menace to the
health of the peOple.

The street pattern of Manila is irregular, as each
section of the city has an individual grid over which are

superimposed the arterial streets and boulevards that

extend across the entire unit. The streets are paved
within the central area. Nearer the corporate limits,
however, some streets are graded earth roads.

Quezon City andeuburban Municipalities.--The
boundaries and areas of the localities around the City
of Manila were largely determined during the Spanish era.
The churches were the centers around which the munici-
palities developed. The pattern of the towns followed,
more or less, the pattern of pueblos in Medieval Spain.
The street system was laid out in a gridiron pattern with
the most important street called Calle Real leading ulti-
mately to the church and the large public square called
Plaza.

The importance of the state eventually began.tO"
manifest itself in the patterns of the town. The
"Municipio" or Municipal Buildings, where the adminis-
trative functions of-the state were held, began to rival
the church in importance. The municipal building was
constructed, in a grand fashion, on one side of the plaza.

The advent of the American regime at the turn of
the 20th century saw~no major changes in the pattern, sizes
and areas of the towns. On the contrary, the land bound-
aries were firmly established, each town becoming a mun-

icipal corporation under the administrative code.

10

All the suburban cities and towns are within a
range of about 10 kilometers from the center of the City
of Manila. Most of them are on a hilly region, and are
rapidly develOping into residential areas. Housing pro-
jects for the low and high income families are being
established. Also, a growing number of commercial and
industrial establishments are to be found in all of Manila's
suburban towns and cities.

Quezon City to the northeast was formally desig-
nated as the Capital of the Philippines. The site rises
from the Manila boundary to a high plateau along its
eastern boundary, where it drOps sharply down to the
Marikina River valley, over which it commands a far-reaching
view to the Sierra Madre mountains beyond. At the southeast
corner of Quezon City, at the t0p of this plateau is the
proposed Capitol Site, where a major part of the national
government services and facilities now located in Manila
are to be transferred.

Unlike Manila--most of which is built on the
alluvium of the Pasig River delta, with a water table just
a few feet under the surface and subject to annual floods
due to heavy rainfall and high tides—-Quezon City lies on
high ground whose soil is dry but stony. OutcrOps of semi-
hard sedimentary stone are everywhere in evidence. The
eastern boundary drOpoff is the result of prehistoric sub-

sidences of the land.

11

Climatic Conditions

 

The geographical location of the Philippines is
greatly responsible for the climatic conditions pre-
vailing in MetrOpolitan Manila. The country lies between
the Equator and the TrOpic of Cancer. Specifically, it
lies between 4° 23' and 21° 25' north latitude, and
between 116° 00' and 127° 00' east longitude. In Metro-
politan Manila, the average monthly temperatures vary by
only 5.5°F but hour to hour temperature have a considerable
spread. During dry seasons in Metropolitan Manila, the low
night temperature averages 75°F, whereas the average high
daytime temperature is 91°F.

There are two pronounced seasons in MetrOpolitan
Manila, namely; dry from November to April, and wet during
the rest of the year. The yearly average rainfall is about
82 inches. Figure 4 illustrates the monthly rainfall dis-
tribution in the Philippines.

The climatic conditions prevailing in Metropolitan
Manila has influenced the design and construction of build-
ings. For example, dwelling units were provided with min-
imum roof eaves or overhangs of 4'-0" as protection from
exposure to sun and heavy rainfall. The absence of very
severe hot and cold weather, and the not too marked tem-

perature differences have made the need for shelter as a

12

protection not as immediate as in other countries.

The climate has often encouraged the indiscriminate
construction of makeshift dwellings in any available

piece of land including those surrounding the harbors,
rivers and even "esteros" or canal that are non-navigable.
It is unfortunate, however, that Metropolitan Manila is
exposed to typhoons. In most instances, this has resulted
to the loss of human lives and property, particularly in
the slum and squatter areas. Their huts, made up of light
and salvaged materials were swept away. This common sit-
uation has pre-occupied the city and national authorities
with the provision of emergency measures where their
limited resources and time should have been spent for lay-

ing out adequate solutions needed for housing develOpment.

Urbanization of Metropolitan Manila

 

Long before Magellan introduced the Philippines
to the West in 1521, the Malays who had migrated to the
Philippines from Indonesia and Malaysia, were dispersed
throughout the islands in kinship communities called
"barangays." These communities, each headed by a Rajah
(chieftain), were usually located near the sea, rivers or
streams for their subsistence. The groupings of structures
in these communities show social order. The huts were

arranged around the "palace of the Rajah," which was

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essentially like the other huts except that it was larger
and elaborately ornamented. The "palace," which was the
center, was located near an Open Space where the chief-
tain met his nobles, and where the tribal ceremonies and
rituals were held. There were no well-defined streets
but only foot-paths and narrow dirt roads for the inhab-
itants and work animals.

When the Spaniards came to Manila in 1571 they
found the same social system. In 1574, Manila was made
the capital of the Philippines by a royal decree of King
Philip II of Spain. The Spaniards ruled Manila as one
governmental unit but they did not disturb the small com-
munities or "barangays." Instead, they solidified the com-
munities further by setting up public plaza around which
were built the church, the town hall, the school and the
larger houses of the elite.1 Later, the Walled City of,
Intramuros was constructed on an area of 120 hectares.

The develOpment of port facilities to absorb the.
rich galleon trade established Manila as the sole port of
the islands through which Chinese silks, porcelain, and

other luxury items could be shipped to Mexico and ulti-

mately Spain, in exchange for quantities of Mexican silver}

 

1Don V. Hart. The Philippine Plaza Complex: A
Focal Point in Culture Change TNew Haven: Yale UniVersity
Press, 1955).

15

Investments in Philippine-based business, therefore,
clustered in Manila and bolstered the city's position as
the administrative and religious center of Spain's asian
empire. There has been also a great demand for skilled
and unskilled labor to build the city which encouraged the
surrounding native populace to forego rural activities for
urban wage-earning. But the need for trained artisans and
the reluctance of many of the natives in suburban commun-
ities to give up agriculture precipitated the growth of the
Chinese population.1

Further intensifying the ethnic diversity of Manila
were the mounting numbers of Chinese and Spanish mestizos,
as a result of intermarriage. By the 19th century,
Americans, British, and other nationalities also added
their stock to the ethnic heterogeneity. Occupational
diversity was evident, too. Cigar factories, r0pe manu-
facturing establishments, hemp presses, and the engine and
boiler works needed to service the steamships plying Manila
routes signalled an incipient industrialization. Manila,
then, on the eve of the Spanish defeat, was the dominant

seat of a new urban pattern. Its primacy had long been

 

1R. R. Reed, Hispanic Urbanism in the Philippines:
A Study of the Impact of Church and State (Manila: Univer-
Eity of Manila Journal of East Asiatic Studies, 1967),
p. 111.

 

 

16

set in the days of the galleons, and its drawing power
for the fortune—hunters, traders, administrators, mis-
sionaries, and wage-seekers had formed it into a hetero-
geneous city serving many purposes. Fisher claims that
the city "retained a position of unchallenged supremacy
(over all other cities in the Philippines) to the present
days."1
The coming of the Americans at the end of the 19th
century marked a new era in the history of Manila. The
Burnham Plan for the City of Manila in 1904 demonstrated
the penchant for order and spaciousness in the American
outlook. Into it they infused their preference for sep-
arate suburban residential areas filled with singlevfamily
residences amid well-watered gardens, and these areas were
well set apart from the commercial and industrial sectors
of the City. Intramuros, the once proud center of the
colony, has ceded its dominant position to the Escolta,
seat of American enterprise. American sanitation engineers
and public health administrators filled in the historic
but disease-breeding moats, initiating the decline of the

Walled City of Intramuros so thoroughly completed in 1945

liberation of Manila.

 

1C. A. Fisher. Southeast Asia (New York: MacMillan
Company, 1964) p. 187.

 

l7

Technological advancement of the 20th century
has accelerated residential movement to the suburbs. The
develOping suburbs which were served by an improved system
of communication, reflected the new outlook of an industrial
age:

"Calle Santa Mesa takes one to Santa Mesa Heights,
where, turning off upon any street, one enters a world
transformed. Here is one part of Manila not demeaned
by the "Chino-tienda" at street corners, or even garages
and filling stations. There is not a streetcar-line
in the place, and there is through traffic only on
Calle Santa Mesa and over San Juan bridge. All the
houses stand in the midst of lawns; there are gardens
of flowers and shrubbery, and the houses are embowered
in foliage. The houses vary enough in size and design,
even in materials, but they are built to plan and
stand back from the streets, which are graveled ways
between the green lawns.

Manila has no "solid Buick neighborhood".as yet,
but Santa Mesa Heights is a solid automobile neighbor-
hood; there seems to be a car or two in the garage at
every house, buses ply main thoroughfares only,

. . . (The hills) effect good drainage and invite a

breeze . . .1

 

lW. Robb, Santa Mesa Heights, American Chamber of
Commerce Journal 10, (7) 1930b, p. 5.

 

18

It can be argued that Manila would have develOped
regardless of American presence and one can insist on
the inevitability of the streetcar, the telephone, and
the airplane. But the fact is that these technological
breakthroughs emerged on the Philippine scene during the
American Occupation, which conditioned the timing of
their entry and the degree to which they spread to the
rest of the archipelago. The United States continued to
foster primate status for Manila. All the functions Spain
had built into the City's develOpment and that of its
suburbs, the Americans retained and elaborated into the
more complex forms required by 20th century technology
and organization.

The Second World War left Manila the most devastated
city in the world next to Warsaw. About 62 percent of the
value of its buildings was destroyed.1 The extensive damage
done to Manila could have provided the Opportunity for
replanning the old colonial city. Instead, the urban pat-
terns were only slightly modified. The five main residen-
tial districts which were present in Manila before the war
still remain the basic residential districts in the pre-

sent.

 

1Table II, Statistics of War Damages, Bulletin of
Philippine Statistics. Volume I, Number 1 (Manila: Bureau
of the Census and Statistics, September 1945), p. 36.

 

19
Residential Development Pattern

Basically, there are five main residential dis-
tricts in Manila. They are Santa Cruz, Binondo, San
Nicolas, Quiapo, and San Miguel. (See Figure 3 on page 7).
Each of these districts is distinguished by the mode of
housing, class, and ethnic group of the population resid-
ing there.

The main commercial center of Manila is the Binondo
district. This district is situated east of San Nicolas,
with secondary shop districts along Rizal Avenue and Quezon
Boulevard in Santa Cruz district. Binondo is characterized
by its shOp-houses combining residence and commercial func-
tions. This area is of mixed pOpulation and it is domin-
antly Chinese district. The districts surrounding Binondo
are characterized by the "accessorias" or buildings of
flats which account for the high density of pOpulation.
This area, along with some districts south of the river,
is the best serviced in terms of piped water and toilet
facilities.1

The Chinese population of Manila which is mostly
concentrated in these districts was greatly affected by

the Retail Trade Nationalization Law of 1955. The law

 

1C. A. Fisher, pp, cit. p. 187.

20

prohibits aliens to engage in new retail trade business
and those already in business are allowed to continue
until their death or retirement. In case of partnership
or corporation, they are allowed to continue for a period
of 10 years. This law, which limits the sphere of their
economic activities, can be considered partly attributable
to their crowded and deteriorating living conditions.

The other residential areas, which are distinguished
largely.by.its dominantly Filipino pOpulation, encompasses
the rest of the city with the exception of the Ermita dis-
trict. The districts of Tondo, Intramuros and Pandacan are
characterized by poor housing-—there is a low percentage of
houses built of strong materials. Tondo is a working class
area occupied by laborers and fishermen living in traditional
houses built of nipa and bamboo. The decline of Intramuros
into a working-class district was the result of the war.

It was one of the worst hit areas during the liberation of
Manila. Squatters moved into the bombed ruins, building
makeshift homes of tin, bamboo and packingcases.1

The superior residential areas are in south and
east of Manila. They include Ermita, Santa Ana, and Malate,

and the suburbs of San Juan Heights, Forbes Park in Makati,

 

1It was only recently that the squatters in this
area were relocated to Sapang Palay. However, it is reported
by the Special Committee that some squatters were still liv-
ininn the area. See Table 5, page 42.

21

and Marikina. This suburban trend is going still farther
out intO-Caloocan City, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Pasay
City, Paranaque, and beyond to the provinces of Bulacan,
Rizal, and Cavite. Thus, the prewar suburbs have become
the sites of lower and lower-middle class concentration

in postwar days; the outskirts, a low-middle area during-
Spanish times, now accomodate upper-class families looking
for open spaces. The interstices have yielded to the new,
low-income migrant seeking a home close to his employment,
and to the squatter in search of almost.any convenient

location that will tolerate his presence.

Government

 

The cities included in Metropolitan Manila have
individual charters granted by the National Legislature.l
The ten suburban towns are under the jurisdiction of the
Province of Rizal. Both the cities and towns have elected
mayors, vice—mayors and councilors. They were usually
elected at large. Manila is different in that its councilors

are elected by districts (five for each of the City's four

 

1The Charter of the City of Manila is Republic
Act 409, passed in 1949. Quezon City was created under
Commonwealth Act 502, passed in 1939 and its present charter,
which was revised in 1950, is Republic Act 537. Pasay City
was first named Rizal City in its first charter, Republic
Act 183, which was passed in 1947, and Caloocan became a
city under Republic Act 3278, after its citizens' approval
in a plebiscite in 1962.

22

political districts). Manila has also one representative
to the National Legislature per district, whereas all
other cities and towns within MetrOpolitan Manila are
represented by the representative of the Province of Rizal.

Local--National Government Relations.--The highly

 

centralized form of government in the Philippines was an
outgrowth of the Spanish colonialism. The President, being
the Chief Executive of the country, has control over all
executive departments and exercises general supervision

over local governments. The high centralization of authority
has, on the whole, reduced localities to dependencies, stul-
tifying their administrative growth and making thethelpless
in the face of many serious local problems.

In 1951, cities were granted charters. Prior to
that, they were not autonomous at all and city mayors were
appointed "to hold office at the pleasure of the President."1
With their charter, cities are supposed to have more local
autonomy than provinces, towns, and "barrios" or villages
but difficulties can be found in the main policies that
govern all local governments. These policies are laid

down nationally and have given rise to a measure of stand-

ardization, leaving the local governments without the

 

1Joseph R. Hayden, The Philippines: A Study in
National Development, (New York: MacMillan Company,
1942), p. 304.

 

23

needed flexibility to deal with local conditions and needs.
In addition, these policies are administered by the national
government. The programs for housing are the national govern-
ment's exclusive domain. Cities and towns have had very
limited participation in the implementation of housing pro-
grams. The determination of national and local housing
needs, the provision of dwellings, services and facilities,
and the relocation and resettlement of dwellers rest upon
the central authority. Purely local services are confined
to functions regarding police, fire, refuse collection and
disposal, the administration of certain local roads and
markets.

Most of the functions of the local government are
thus virtually field extensions of the functions of the

national government.

CHAPTER II

THE IMPACT OF POPULATION:

FACTS AND ANALYSIS

From 220,000 in 1903, the pOpulation of Manila
proper alone had increased 500 per cent to 1.1 million by
1960. Including the suburban cities and towns that com-
prised Metr0politan Manila, the pOpulation reached a much
larger 2.4 million which is about one-tenth of the national
population. The Institute of Planning of the University
of the Philippines predicts a metrOpolitan pOpulation of
5.9 million by 1980 and 11.7 million by the year 2000.1
It is to conclude, therefore, that these peOple will be
accomodated beyond the presently ad0pted boundaries of
Metropolitan Manila. Actually, there are two principal
factors which are rapidly contributing to this situation;

namely, natural increase and rural to urban migration.

a. Natural Increase - Manila and suburbs grow

 

at a distressing yearly rate of at least 4 per cent.

 

1Institute of Planning, A PlanningStrategy for
Metropolitan Manila, A.D. 2000 (Manila: Institute of
Planning, University of the Philippines, 1968) Mimeo, p. 8.

 

 

24

25

While rural to urban migration accounts for more than

half of this rapid growth, there are evidences that charge
Manilans with the burden of contributing human beings to
the urban stream. This has resulted from the technological
progress in arresting epidemics, controlling diseases, and
minimizing other health hazards. For instance, even with

a higher percentage of literacy and increased interaction
with theWest, the average six to seven children per family
in Metropolitan Manila by 1966 is practically the same_as
that in 1956.1

Pratt predicts, however, that a decline will be

evident beginning in 1970, or so. Even if this prediction
proves true, it would take another generation for it to

demonstrate any appreciable effect.

b. Rural to Urban Migration — It.is a "push"

 

factor which is more significant in forcing the rural
migrant into the city than the "pull" factor of coming to
the city because of interest or convenience. It appears
that peeple are being forced into the cities because of
unstable political and economic conditions in the country-
side. This has led to the persistence of the economic
problems of the city. The rural migrants who have been

forced to move into the city's already inflated tertiary

 

1W. F. Pratt, Family Size and Expectations in
Manila, St. Louis Quarterly 5 (1-2), 1967., p. 156.

 

26

sector find it difficult to earn an adequate living
because they are poorly educated and unskilled. The
result, beyond unemployment, is underemployment, where
three, four, or five persons divide up a task that could
be done by one. Rural migrants who come to the city to.
alleviate their rural poverty find that it is replaced by
urban poverty.l

Despite the fact that the city cannot offer employ-
ment Opportunities, its population still grows. Thus,
there is an increase in the poverty situation of the
majority of the pOpulation. The failure to reform the
agricultural structure means that the poverty situation
is not lessened to any appreciable extent. This situation,
together with the pressure of the growing population,
forces more migrants into the already overcrowded city of:
Manila. For instance, the growth of the inner district of
Intramuros in Manila can be regarded as abnormal. In fact,
this district which encompasses the old Spanish fort and
the original industrial core of the city, experienced an
influx of illegal squatters into the area after it had
been badly bombed during the liberation of Manila and it

increased the population from 967 in 1948 to 13,243 in 1960.

 

1T. G. McGee, The Southeast Asian City (New York:
MacMillan Company, 19677, p. 85. '

 

27

Aside from the rapid growth of pOpulation in Manila
in general, another factor which should be taken into con-
sideration is the disorder which occurred after the Second
World War (after the bombing of Manila). When the new civil
administrators were struggling to arrange the conditions of
the city, this situation provided the Opportunity for many
squatters to occupy land, particularly on the bomb—damaged
areas. They might not have been able to do this if the

civil administration had paid close attention to the con-

dition.

TABLE 2

P0pulation of MetrOpolitan Manila by
District, City, and Town: 1948-1960

 

Increase (+) Decrease (-)

 

 

 

1948 1960 Number Percentage
City of Manila 983,906 1,138,611 +154,705 + 15.7
Binondo 21,935 16,384 - 5,551 - 25.3
Ermita 14,922 18,092 + 3,170 + 21.2
Intramuros 967 13,243 + 12,256 +l,24l.7
Malate 66,540 69,720 + 3,180 + 4.8
Paco 44,224 49,779 + 5,555 + 12.6
Pandacan 23,250 45,800 + 22,550 + 97.0
Port Area 7,702 197 - 7,505 - 97.5
Quiapo 27,428 24,251 - 3,177 - 11.6
Sampaloc 233,779 287,686 + 53,907 + 23.1

28

TABLE 2-Continued

 

Increase (+) Decrease (-)

 

 

1948 1960 Number Percentage
San Miguel 19,301 16,450 - 2,851 - 14.8
San Nicolas 40,953 33,022 - 7,931 - 19.4
Sta. Ana 59,618 84,330 + 24,712 - 41.5
Sta. Cruz 139,883 127,708 - 12,175 - 8.7
Tondo 283,384 351,949 + 68,565 + 24.2
Caloocan City- 58,208 145,523 +_87,315 + 150.0
Pasay City 88,728 132,673 + 43,945 + 49.5
Quezon City 107,977 397,990 +290,013 + 268.6
Las Pinas 9,280 16,093 + 6,813 + 73.4
Makati 41,335 114,540 + 73,205 + 177.1
Malabon 46,455 76,438 + 29,983 + 64.5
Mandaluyong 26,309 71,619 + 45,310 + 172.2
Marikina 23,353 40,455 + 17,102 + 73.2
Navotas 18,444 49,262 + 20,373 + 70.5
Paranaque 28,884 61,898 + 33,014 + 114.3
Pasig 35,407‘ 62,130 + 26,723 + 75.5
Pateros 8,380 13,173 + 4,793 + 57.2
San Juan 31,493 56,861 + 25,368 + 80.6
Source: Bureau of the Census and Statistics., Census of the

 

Philippipes, 1960: Population and Housing. ’VOl. 1.,
Manila, Bureau of the Census and Statistics, 1963.

29

Rural vs Urban Life

 

Migration from rural to urban areas present
formidable problems for the migrants. The difficulties
encountered by the newcomers to the urban scene become
evident by contrasting the typical features of rural and

urban life.1

 

 

 

 

Rural life is Urban life is
Characterized by:, Characterized by:
1. Prevalence of subsis— 1. Monetary economy.

tence economics and ex-
change for goods and

services.

2. Little Specialization 2. Almost universal special-
of occupation. ization.

3. Fixed social pattern 3. Social relationships com-
established by tra- paratively undefined.
dition.

4. Limited number of social 4. Large number of social con-

contacts. tacts but of a more casual
nature.

5. Behavior controlled by 5. Behaviour control by com-
approval or decision of munity is lacking. There-
community (based on fore, there is a need for
accepted norms). law enforcing agencies

(police).

6. Food-main item of fam- 6. Budget must cover other im-

ily budget. portant items of expenditure

(housing, transport, etc.)

 

7. Land for housing freely 7. Space limited and expensive.
available.
8. Extended families. 8. Small families predominate.
1

Table based on a study entitled "Dynamics of Urban-
ization in Africa" by Daniel McCall, The Annals of the
American Academy of.Political and Social Science., Volume 298,
Number 3 (Philadelphia: March 1955), pp. 151-160.

30

There are, of course, exceptions from this general
picture. Yet, the general picture is one of enforced
change in living habits and problems of adjustments. For
instance, in the rural areas, life is not too harsh even
in the midst of poverty because of the bounties of nature
and the assistance of friends, relatives and neighbors.

In the city, however, the migrants find that he has to buy
everything--from firewood, which he used to take from the
forest, to water, which he just fetched from the streams
and rivers. Considering that the migrant, because of

lack of skills, cannot find a well-paying job, the sudden
translation into money terms of all his needs in the light

of his low income, is a rude shock.

Extended Family System

 

Outside of the MetrOpolitan Manila, this fundamental
social unit has remained intact to the present time. The
principal source and means of livelihood—-agriculture--which
makes the family an essential working unit, and the Catholic
religion with its system of filial loyalties have joined
in building up family solidarity which is probably the
strongest single social factor or element in the Philippine

I O I 1
soc1o-economlc llfe.

 

lPresident's Action Committee on Social Amelioration,
Philippine Social Trends (Manila: April 1950), p. 25.

 

31

In the Metropolitan Manila, families are breaking
away from.this traditional pattern. In many cases, the
loosening of bonds is a result of economic pressures. It
is also due to widened occupational or cultural interest
that limit the time for visiting and family get—together.
However, the urban families even though compelled by these.
pressures, still retain the sense of responsibility to
help and support handicapped members, particularly the
old folks.

There are several disadvantages of the extended
family system in modern times. Most serious is the over-
burdening of many non-prosperous families with dependent
relatives. For instance, if an average family size of
4.6 persons must support an average of an additional 1.4
persons or a total of six, it is a heavy burden for a not
too prosperous family. This costs the family about 25 per
cent more to live. To meet this added expense, the family
lives in crowded quarters, eats.inadequate food, and gen-
erally subjects itself to unhealthy, not to mention unpleas-

ant, conditions.
Other Problems.due to the Increase of Population

The MetrOpolitan Manila is growing so fast that
the nation has not been able to provide for better housing.

In fact, it has been unable to build for the new demand,

32

and thus, created a housing shortage. Out of the total
370,716 dwelling units in 1960 Metropolitan Manila,
166,474 were substandard.l
The lower Class stratum of the population is forced
into squatter and slum dwelling.2 They occupy vacant land
in the interstices or fringes of Manila. Most of the areas
on the fringes of Manila which are highly priced subdivisions
have also been affected by squatters. For instance, the
southern portions of Paranaque and Las Pinas (eSpecially the
railroad tracks and the Army reservations) have been invaded
by many squatters. The 1968 survey of squatter and slum
conditions in Metropolitan Manila estimated that there are

approximately 127,852 squatter families (767,112 persons)

and 55,907 slum families (335,442 persons) for a total of

 

1The types of dwelling unit considered substandard
are of two types, namely; dwellings of light materials
(non-durable like nipa, sawali and cogon) and dwellings
of mixed materials (containing light materials). The fig-
ures, therefore, include squatter and slum dwellings.
See Table 3, page 33.

2For our purposes, some distinctions should be
made for the terms "squatting" and "slum dwelling."
Squatting will be a legal concept which involves the
occupancy of a piece of land or building without the
permission of the owner. "Slum dwelling," on the other
hand, will denote a socio-economic concept. It will
mean living in houses that are so dilapidated and Con-
gested that the condition poses a health, fire, vice
and crime hazard not only to those who live in the slums,
but to the whole urban community as well.

33

183,759 families living in substandard housing.1 Metro-
politan Manila in this survey includes the following units:
the built-up area (conurbation) of the City of Manila, the
cities of Caloocan, Quezon and Pasay, and the towns of
Malabon, Navotas, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Makati,

Cainta, Pasig, Taguig, Paranaque and Las Pinas in Rizal

province.

 

 

 

TABLE 3
All Dwelling Units by Kind of Construction Materials: 1960

Kind of Construction Materials.
Municipalities Total Strong " Mixed Light Others
Manila 177,825 106,023 47,523 24,279 0
Quezon City 59,362 36,591 12,265 10,506 0
Pasay City 21,490 14,848 4,718 1,923 1
Caloocan City 23,724 13,436 6,226 4,057 5
Las Pinas 2,604 929 660 1,013 0
Makati 18,199 9,848 4,972 3,378 1
Malabon 11,907 4,547 5,197 2,163 0
Mandaluyong- 10,312 4,235 3,839 2,238 0
Marikina 6,308 1,089 3,261 1,958 0
Navotas 8,632 1,567 3,917 3,148 0

 

1

Office of the President (Philippines), Squatting

and Slum Dwelling in MetrOpolitan Manila, Philippine Socio-

 

logical Review, Volume XVI, Numbers 1-2 (Manila:

April 1963), p. 92.

January-

34

TABLE 3-Continued

 

Kind of Construction Materials
Municipalities Total Strong Mixed Light Others

 

 

Paranaque 10,088 2,232 6,237 1,619 0

 

Pasig 9,555 2,510 4,180 2,865 0
Pateros 1,985 620 679 686 0
San Juan 8,727 5,751 1,498 1,477 1
Total for 370,716 204,226 105,156 61,310 8
MetrOpolitan

Manila

 

Source: Bureau of the Census and Statistics., Census Of the
Philippines, 1960: Population and Housing. Volume 1,
Manila, Bureau of the Census and Statistics, 1963.

 

The problem of slums and squatting is not confined
to Metropolitan Manila alone but also to many cities in
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao (the three main regions that
comprised the Philippines). A survey made by the joint
United Nations (U.N.)--PeOple's Homesite and Housing Corp-
oration (PHHC) Research Team shows the slum and squatter
pOpulation of Baguio in 1964 at 2,795 families (16,207
persons), which was about 27 per cent of the city's pOpula-
tion. The figure for other areas was as follows: Davao,
21,000 persons or 8.5 per cent of the city's pOpulation;
Iligan, 5,600 or 7.5 per cent; Cagayan de Oro, 4,450 or

11.0 per cent; Butuan, 19,800 or 43.5 per cent; Ozamis,

35

5,250 or 25 per cent; Cotabato, 19,200 or 10 per cent;
Marawi, 6,780 or 44.5 per cent; and Surigao, 10,000 or
22 percent.1

The above figures are significant because most
migrants-to MetrOpolitan Manila came from these secondary.
urban areas. Only about 7 per.Cent of the slum and squat-
ter pOpulation are born in MetrOpolitan Manila. In other
words, the difficult life in the rural areas is pushing
people to the smaller cities where they become squatters
and slum dwellers. When life in those cities becomes
difficult, they take a trip to Manila and continue their
Old way of life there. Yet, for all this poverty, urging
those migrants to return to the province usually falls on
"deaf ears," for Opportunity there is even more scarce.
Moreover, for the Visayas or Mindanao migrant, the long
boat trip or expensive plane flight could well dictate an
irreversible course of action for life. The Luzon migrant,
who can take the reasonably priced bus or train home should
the urban condition prove cruel to him, might be able to

return to his home area if employment became available.

 

lMorris Juppenlatz., Housing the PEOple of the
Philippines (Manila: U.N. Department of Sodial and ‘
Economic Affairs, October 1966), Table XIV.

 

 

36

Of the MetrOpolitan Manila's squatters (inclue
ding slum dwellers) present in 1968: 16 per cent had
comeretween 1946 and 1954; 14 per cent between 1955
and 1960; 28 per cent between 1961 and 1965, and 9 per
cent between 1966 and 1970 (estimated).1 It means that
the second generation of squatters and slum dwellers is
now contributing to the already serious problem even as
the rate of rural to urban migration is increasing.

Another consequence of the pOpulation increase,
when coupled with economic and financial problems of the
population, is the doubling up of families. It is esti-
mated that 30 per cent of all squatters and slum families
in Metropolitan Manila are doubled up.2 The overcrowding
conditions brought about by this practice are considered
compensated by economic conveniences of sharing the primary
expenses--food, water, electricity and rental fees--with
one or two families. The pressure of this practice upon
a minimal facilities eventually resulted to slums and
deteriorating conditions.

After the enumeration of some conditions Metro-
politan Manila is now experiencing, it can be said that

the rapid growth of pOpulation has created housing problems.

 

1Office of the President (Philippines), 9p, cit.,

p. 101.

2Office of the President (Philippines), 9p, cit.,
p. 97.

37

Perhaps, it is experiencing the most acute housing shortage
in the nation. This growth of pOpulation also placed tre-
mendous pressure on the available local services. Local
government, welfare and tranSportation services break down
under the disprOportionate increase of the population.
There can be little question that MetrOpolitan Manila
shares the same problems experienced by other cities-in
Southeast Asia. They are: (1) the economic problems of
unemployment, unbalanced occupational structure, poverty
and inequality of income; (2) social problems of adjust-
ments to city life which so often leads to delinquency

and crime; and (3) the physical problems of overcrowding
in slums and burgeoning squatter settlements, and the
administrative problems of establishing efficient urban
services in the face of this urban explosion. These prob-
lems, particularly those of the slum and squatter settle-
ment which are Clear indicators of the housing crisis, are
not now as serious as they will undoubtedly become in the
foreseeable future, in the absence of any radical new

attack upon them.

CHAPTER III

THE HOUSING SITUATION IN METROPOLITAN MANILA

The idea of the slum carries with it a negative
connotation. The slum is a poverty area, run-down, over-
crowded, inhabited by persons who are not welcome to other
residential areas. Its appearance has the universal mark
of "neglect and disorder with respect to buildings, yards
and streets . . . structural over-age and decline."1
This negative idea of slum, essentially a Western VieWpoint,
has been transported elsewhere, even where climate, society
and culture demand different conceptualizations. The
United Nations, for example, defines a slum as a "building,
group of buildings, or area characterized by overcrowding,
deterioration, unsanitary conditions or absence of facil-
ities or amenities which, because of these conditions or

any of them, endanger the health, safety or morals of its

inhabitants or the community."2 The same negative attitude

 

1Nels Anderson, The Urban Communipy (New York:
Henry Holt and Company, 1959), p. 191.

2United Nations, Urban Land Policies, Document
ST/SCA/9 (New York: U.N. Secretariat, 1952), p. 200.

38

39

toward slums is evident in squatting. Squatting, in
legal concept, involves the occupancy of a piece of land
or building without the permission of the owner. There-
fore, the squatter is unjust because he is denying the
property's use of its rightful owner.

Compared to other countries, slums and squatting

1 In India, where

in the Philippines are relative1y_new.
slums have been known for centuries, there are many words
for them. Among these are "bustees, jompris, ahatas,

"2 Similarly, in Latin

cheris, katras, Chawls and lanes.
America, slum and squatter areas are common and variously
referred to as "jacales or colonias proletarias in Mexico;
favelas, mocambos or vilas de malocas in Brazil; callampas
in Chile; villas miserias in Buenos Aires; barrios clandes-
tinos in Colombia and Peru; and ranchos in VeneZuela."3
Slums are also common in the United States but several

polite words or terms of a genteel nature have been used

to refer to them. These include "blighted area, renewal

 

1There is, in fact, no vernacular term for slums
and squatting in the country, unless one regards the word.
"iskwating" as part of the language. The Closet term to a
slum area is the "looban," which literally means "interior"
and denotes a neighborhood not directly accessible from a
main thoroughfare. These terms, "iskwating" and "looban,"
are believed to have originated in Metropolitan Manila.

2Marshall B. Clinard., Slums and Community DevelOp-
ment (New York: The Free Press, 1966), p. 75.

 

31bia., pp. 51-54.

40

area, deteriorated area, gray area, lower class neighbor-

hood, low income area, and inner core area."
Slums and Squatting in Metropolitan Manila

The rapidly expanding MetrOpolitan Manila is now
experiencing the same phenomenon. As mentioned earlier,
there are approximately 127,852 squatter families (767,112
persons) and 55,907 slum families (335,442 persons), a
total of 183,759 families living in substandard housing in
Metropolitan Manila. The City of Manila alone contained:
27.6 per cent of all squatter families and 80.7 per Cent
of all slum families, which is 43.8 per cent of the com-

1 Tables 4 and 5 show

bined total for MetrOpolitan Manila.
the estimated number of squatter and slum families in
Metropolitan Manila and the City of Manila.

In Metropolitan Manila, slums and squatter houses
in most, if not all, instances were co-existing conditions
which implies the usual dilapidated condition of housing.
Notable exceptions were Magsaysay Village in Tondo, Manila
where many squatter houses are built of strong materials

with more or less adequate facilities, and in Malate and

Pasay, where squatters pay rent to private landowners and

 

1Office of the President (Philippines), 9p, cit.,
p. 92.

41

are not, technically, squatting.- As mentioned, however,
some distinctions have been made--"squatting" was consid-
ered a legal concept, whereas "slum" implies a socio-
economic concept.

Squatters in MetrOpolitan Manila occupy either
public or private property. The squatter settlement in
the Intramuros area can be considered squatting on public
property. The condition of housing is poor and crowded.
Sanitation and water supplies are virtually non-existent.
Because squatters are generally poor, they have inadequate
nutrition and they lack medical care. The city authorities
of Manila, after so many years of delay, demolished the
squatter settlement within the walls of Intramuros, shift-
ing 11,000 squatters to Sapang-Palay, a small municipality
sixteen miles from Manila. In this area which the squatters
left, the ancient Spanish walls and streets were restored
and the whole of Intramuros will be transformed into a
cultural center.

There are also those who squat on private prOperty,
which are of two categories; namely, those who are on the
property with consent, and those who are on the property
without consent. In either case, however, both are con-
sidered social problems. Squatters on private property

without the consent of the owner have learned how to hang on.

42

TABLE 4

Estimated Number of Squatters and Slum Dwellers
in MetrOpolitan Manila, 1968 (Families)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slum

Location Squatters % Dwellers % Total %
Manila 35,329 27.6 45,107 80.7 80,436 43.8
Malabon 9,000 7.1 - - 9,000 4.9
Navotas 4,000 3.1 - - 4,000 2.2
Caloocan City. 21,650 16.9 2,350 4.2 24,000 13.1
Quezon City 31,297 24.5 1,450 2.6 32,747 17.8
Mandaluyong 15,250 11.9 6,000 10.7 21,250 11.7
San Juan 3,384 2.7 - - 3,384 1.8
Marikina 456 .4 - - 456 .2
Pasig 196 .2 - - 196 .l
Taguig 200 .2 - - 200 .l
Cainta 80 .0 - - 80 .0
Makati 971 .8 200 .4 1,171 .6
Pasay-City 1,939 1.5 800 1.4 2,739 1.5
Paranaque 3,600 2.7 - - 3,600 1.9
Las Pinas 500 .4 - - 500 .3
METROPOLITAN

MANILA 127,852 100.0 55,907 100.0 183,759 100.0

TABLE 5
Estimated Number of Squatters.and Slum Dwellers
in the City of Manila, 1968 (Families)
Slum

Location Squatters % Dwellers % Total %
Ermita 475 1.4 - - 475 .6
Malate 206 .6 2,810 6.2 3,016 3.7
Intramuros, 73 .2 - - 73 .l
Paco 610 1.7 950 2.1 1,560 1.9
Sta. Ana 1,279 4.0 4,162 9.2 5,559 6.9
Pandacan 2,370 6.7 307 .7 2,677 3.3
Sampaloc 7,400 20.9 5,514 12.2 12,914 16.1
San Miguel 166 .5 320 .7 486 .6

43

TABLE 5-Continued

 

 

 

 

Slum

Location Squatters % Dwellers % Total %
Sta. Cruz 750 2.1 3,325 7.4 4,075 5.1
Quiapo 100 .3 291 .6 391 .5
San Nicolas - - 1,803 4.0 1,803 2.0
Binondo 900 2.5 210 .5 1,110 1.7
Tondo 20,882 59.1 25,415 56.4 46,297 57.5
TOTAL FOR

MANILA 35,329 100.0 451107 100.0 80,436 100.0
Source: Office of the President (Manila), Squatting and Slum

Dwelling in MetrOpolitan Manila, Philippine Socio-

logical Review, Volume XVI, Numbers l-2.,(Manila:
January-April 1968), p. 93.

 

They have reduced the hazard of eviction by combining with
other squatters to resist it by force.1

Despite considerable differences in the physical
appearance of the slum and squatter areas in MetrOpolitan
Manila, they still share certain common features. They
lack the amenities and facilities available to peOple of
higher economic-status. Sanitation and water supplies are
non-existent. Occasionally, the municipal authorities,
horrified at the health consequences of this condition,
run standing pipelines into these areas. Some 70 per cent
of the slum and squatter families in Metropolitan Manila

have electricity.

1Charles Abrams. Man's Struggle_for Shelter in an
Urbanizing World (New YorEE MacMillan Company,41964),
p.115.

 

44

It was also found by 1968 that the median family
income was 150 pesos per month, although some families
earned in excess of 500 pesos. A family earning 100 pesos
or less was considered poor enough to qualify for free
housing. The average family size in the slum and squatter
areas was 5 to 6 persons.1 Some 67 per cent owned their
homes (or shelters), and 26 per cent rented.2 It could
be assumed here that most owners were squatting and thus,
the owner-renter distinction loses the meaning it has in

the United States.

The Effects of Slums and Squatting

 

The effects of the large pOpulation of the slum
and squatter areas in Metropolitan Manila are closely
related to other social problems. These areas were found
to have a high incidence of crime. For instance, the dis-

trict of Tondo which has 57.5 per cent of Manila's squatters

 

1When compared with Pratt's study claiming that
Metropolitan Manila has an average of 6 to 7 children per
family, the slum and squatter areas have less than the
average size household. This could be attributable to two
factors, namely; the high rate of death, and to those
migrants who left their families in the rural areas with
the hOpe that they will follow if the conditions in the
city proves encouraging.
2Office of the President (Philippines). op. cit.,
p. 97.

45

and slum dwellers had 35.8 per cent of reported crime
victims in 1965.1 The reported crime rate is the highest
in the records but there is also some evidence of a con-
siderable number of unreported crimes in the area.

There is also a relationship between the break-
down in morals and socially-accepted behavior and the
presence of slum and squatter areas. It is reasonable
to believe that crimes against chastity and crimes against
morals are highest in these areas.

Because of the nature of the structures and the
impassibility or non-existence of streets, they constituted
a serious fire hazard. Thus, it is not unusual for large
and costly fires to originate from slum and squatter areas.
This has been demonstrated by the Pasay and Binondo fires.
Incomplete statistics, however, preclude the presentation
of the extent of the loss on both property and lives.

A high incidence and type of diseases are also
found in these areas. There is a close link between the
predominance of respiratory and gastro-intestinal disease
to the presence of slum and squatter areas. Moreover,
the records generally show a rise in the incidence of
mental cases. The national government maintains a mental
hospital in Quezon City and a psychopathic institution in

nearby Mandaluyong.

 

1City of Manila and National Science DevelOpment,
Board. Manila: Its Needs and Resources (Manila: Manila
Social Welfare Department, 1967), Chapter IX.

46

There is also a relationship between low prOperty
values and the concomittant low income from real property
taxes to the presence of slum and squatter areas. The
reasons for these are quite obvious. Squatters and slum
dwellers pay few or no taxes, and the hesitance among land
buyers to acquire these areas for develOpment because
squatters, as mentioned earlier, have learned to hang on
to the occupied land by force and threat. Guerrero esti-
mated that although commercial land in Manila exceeds
1,500 pesos/square meter in value, the presence of squat-
ters and slum dwellers often devalues land to as low as
50 pesos/square meter.l

While these problems brought about by the slum
and squatter areas.are recognizable, relatively little has
been done to solve them. The reasons for these are varied.
As the U.N. report aptly pointed out: " . . . a stern
policy in the city of Manila on squatters is often offset
by political recognition of the rights of squatters,
sympathetic indulgence and compensation; others are viewed

with scorn and ousted while most squatters continue to

live in limbo, gravitating between encouragement and deSpair,

 

1Constantina Guerrero, Social Aspects of Housing
and Urban Renewal (Manila: People's Homesite and Housing
CorporatiOn, 1963), Mimeo.

 

47

Optimism and frustration, hoping that massive and con-
tinuous resistance to law will bring battle fatigue to
officials and convert the illegal treSpass into lawful
tenure."l A welfare-oriented viewPoint among public
officials make eviction of squatters unpopular. Protect-
ing squatters has political values because about 65 per

cent of slum and squatter families are members of at least

2

one organization in these areas and, therefore, one of

the indices of a strong feeling of community and solid-
arity among slum dwellers and squatters. This feeling

of community and solidarity is a great asset in dealing
*with politicians. They need protection, politicians need
‘votes. So skillfully have politicians, acting as lawyers.
for squatters and slum dwellers, argued their case that
the ejection of Intramuros squatters, finally carried out
.in.l963, had to be based upon an old charter provision
saranting the Mayor powers to prevent a nuisance.

Slum and squatting, when tolerated and even encour-
amged for political interest and selfish ends, contributes
‘tua the incidence of more serious consequences. Physical
disorganization of the slum andlsquatter areas jars the

aesthetic sensibilities of many people, and the personal

 

1Charles Abrams. op. cit., p. 81.

2Office of the President (Philippines), op. cit.,
p. 97.

48

and social dislocation brought about by the life in these
areas may be hard to assess and quantify but it is never-

theless a growing threat.
Some Interesting Findings-About.Slum Dwellers and Squatters.

The Philippines Free Press (editorial) notes some
observations on squatters and slum dwellers. These can
be summarized as follows:

1. Most squatters can afford to pay for their
housing, but prefer to squat because they
can do so without bothering about rentals.
Included under this category are business-
men, lawyers, and other professionals.

2. There are some policemen squatting and they
even have shanties for sale or for rent.

3. Some of the squatters and slum dwellers have
electrical appliances, which many employees
living in rental apartments cannot afford to
buy.

4. Many of the squatters and slum dwellers have~
illegal water-connections.

5. Some of the squatters and slum dwellers make
a living by charging excessive fees for
questionable electrical connections.1

Although no formal studies-are reported regarding

these findings, it seems important to be aware that they

do somehow exist.

 

1The Editorial, Slum Explosion, The Philippines
Free Press, Issue LXI, Number 35 (Manila: August 17, 1968),
p. 1.

 

 

49
The Geographical Distribution of Squatters and Slum Dwellers

Within the City of Manila proper, three areas com-
prise the majority of its squatters and slum dwellers.
They are Tondo, Sampaloc and Pandacan.

Tondo has the biggest problem of squatters and
slum dwellers in Manila prOper. It contains an estimated
46,397 of the city's 80,436 households that make up the
total squatter and slum pOpulation of Manila.1 It is
claimed that the biggest squatter-slum colonies are found
in Barrio Magsaysay, Barrio Magdaragat, the railroad tracks
from Tayuman to Barrio Obrero and the notorious Isla Puting
Bato. Physical conditions around Tondo are especially bad.
The streets are described as small, winding and narrow,
with numerous pockets not accessible to motorized vehicles.

There is a tendency for squatters and slum dwellers
to congregate in the Tondo district because there are more
job opportunities for unskilled and uneducated people in
the area. In this section of the city is found North Harbor,
Divisoria and other markets, and thousands of factories and
little shOps.

In the district of Sampaloc, there are about 12,914

squatter and slum families.2 Squatters are mostly

 

1Office of the President (Philippines), op. cit.,

p. 94.

2Office of the President (Philippines), gp. cit.,

p. 95.

50

concentrated along the railroad track right-of-way

and in the low lying formerly swampy areas. In Sampaloc
there is little by way of economic base to support com-
munities of low income peOple. Sampaloc can only offer
the markets and some small commercial establishments.
Primarily, it is a residential community serving the
downtown.section.

The district of Pandacan has the highest concen-
tration of squatters and slum dwellers in the Fourth
District, having 2,370 of the Fourth District's 13,360
squatters and slum families.1 It is an industrial area
with almost all of the oil depots and the main gas com-
pany plants located there. Because of such a situation,
it has attracted both skilled and unskilled workers, who
naturally tended to live close to their jobs.

The above mentioned districts are illustrated in

Figure 3 on page 7.
Squatting and Slums AmongASuburban Cities and Towns

Quezon City has the worst squatter (and not-slum)

problem among the suburban cities and towns.2 The Quezon

 

1Office of the President (Philippines), op. cit.,

p. 95.

2A report submitted to the President stated that
squatters from the Quezon Memorial Park site have been re-
located in the PHHC property in Carmona, Cavite by the
Resettlement Agency. SEE: Four Year Housing and Urban
Development Program, F.Y. 1967-1970, submitted by the Pres-
idential Assistant on Housing and Resettlement Agency,
January 7, 1969.

51

Memorial Park site is the biggest headache for the city
and national officials. Although they are widely dis-
tributed throughout the large park, the squatters have
managed to discourage development within the area. In
Quezon City, squatters are well organized and thus, an
important political block that politicians have to contend
with.

The City of Caloocan has the third worst squatter
and slum problem in MetrOpolitan Manila, after Manila and
Quezon City. There are about 25,000 squatter and slum
families living in the area.1 The many small shops.and
trades in Caloocan City attract people of the low income
variety. The presence, too, of large tracts of public
lands and private estates temptingly calls to squatters.

After the presentation of the major concentrations
of squatters and slum dwellers within the MetrOpolitan
Manila, it is concluded that certain reasons are responsible
for the greater attraction of certain areas within the
metropolis.2 They include: the nearness to sources of
employment which depend on unskilled labor and which give

low pay; the availability of undeveloped public lands or

 

1Office of the President (Philippines), op, cit., p.96.

2See Tables 4 and 5 on page 42 for the distribution
of squatter and slum families in Metropolitan Manila.

52

large private estates; the availability of poor or mar-
ginal lands not suitable for other development; and, slum
dwellers are usually attracted to private lands where the
owners are willing to receive low rents because the land
is marginal.

The presence of slums and squatting are clear
indicators of housing crisis. The urbanites of the
Metropolitan Manila, being family centered, dreams of a
house and lot of his own, nourished by house beautiful ads
of real estate develOpers which have the Western flavor of
preference for single-family house amid well-watered gardens.
But this dream dies hard. In Manila alone, 940 of its
3,700 hectares are slums and squatter areas often described

"1 Sporadic efforts have been made to

as "urban jungles.
solve these problems. Because of a lack of definite policy,
the legal uncertainty toward slums and squatting, politics
and confusing bureaucratic tangle, lack of public invest-

ment and unavailability of credit for housing, these efforts

had little success.

 

1Aprodicio Laquian., The City in Nation Building
(Manila: School of Public Administration, University of
the Philippines, 1966). p. 53.

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS OF HOUSING PROBLEMS

The housing problem is increasing every year and
placed tremendous pressure upon the city and national
government, in such a way that the nation has to move more
rapidly (in the provision of adequate shelters) than the
more developed Western counterparts. The belief of some
peOple proves true that in general, "many of the undeveloped
countries of the world today are trying to accomplish within
a decade what it took the more develOped countries centuries
to achieve."1 No matter how ambitious an effort will be,
it should be realized that the solutions to the housing
problem rest upon the understanding of the problem itself
and several factors affecting it for it cannot be solved
by merely providing houses.

The foregoing chapters illustrate some background
information related to housing develOpment in MetrOpolitan
Manila, the extent of its housing problems and its effects.

This chapter will discuss and analyze several factors that

 

1Max Millikan and Don Blackner, eds., The Emerging
Nations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1961).

 

53

54

contributed to the housing problems of MetrOpolitan
Manila. Although some of them have been discussed, it,
is important to have a full grasp of the problem from

many angles.

Land Availability

 

The availability of land is one important factor
that affects housing in MetrOpolitan Manila. It is obvious
that the high cost of housing is partly due to high cost
of land, which is caused not by scarcity but of refusal to

1 This situation is most acute in the environs of

sell.
Manila, where land poverty exists amid land plenty.2

In MetrOpolitan Manila, land cost has soared not
only because of land hoarding. The reasons for these also
include: "absence of an effective land policy to prevent

land hoarding, control land use, and make government more

active in the acquisition, development and distribution of

 

1There are various reasons for the refusal to sell
land. Foremost of which is the fact that land still remains
the safest and most profitable investment. For instance,
land in Manila is assessed at 30 to 50 per cent of value,
and the tax is about 1 per cent. Thus, the effective tax
rate is only 1/3 of l.per cent to 1/2 of l per cent of value.
The owner of land worth $50,000 on which the annual tax are
only $150 to $250 need not be in a hurry to develOp it. The
demand for land, partly due to the increasing population,
makes-landowners feel that they can safely pay the small
annual taxes and recoup many times their outlays by holding
on.for the inevitable price rise.

2Charles Abrams., op. cit., p. 56.

55

land; overconcentration of land ownership in a few hands;
failure of the government to put idle lands to production

or development by imposing the necessary regulatory and
control measures like taxation, assessment, etc., and;

lack of resources and effective means to exercise eminent.
domain to make more land available for housing develOpment.l

In the outskirts of Manila, plots for homes are
available to those who can afford to pay excessive prices.
Speculators and subdividers are able to buy a tract of
land, and some even retail it in small plots where the cost
is four, five, or six times the price he paid. Others will
continue to hold the purchased land out of use or exact
ransom prices. Land speculation is less often motivated
by the profit to be made from immediate development than
by a determination to hold on for the inevitable price rise
of the undeveloped land.

Due to high cost of land, low income families were
forced to slum life, overcrowding, or ransom rents--or they
simply squat on public or private lands. The high cost of
land is also holding back the general development of the
Metropolitan Manila. The National Planning Commission

believes that "one of the greatest obstacles in the

 

lAsteya Santiago., Reorganizingfor Housing and
Urban Dovelopment (Manila: Institute ofiPlanning, University
of the Philippines, 1969), Mimeo., p. 6.

 

56

replanning of developed areas is the high cost of land.
In many cases, the cost has been found to be incompatible

with the reasonable use of the land."1

Economic

The low economic condition of a large segment of-
population in Metropolitan Manila is one of the most.
troublesome factors that affects housing. In Metropolitan
Manila, a 40 square meter one-storey house may be built
with precast concrete and galvanized iron roofing for
about 150 pesos per square meter or a total of 6,000 pesos.
At the fringes, an acceptable minimum lot of 200 square
meter will cost at least 8,000 pesos.. (Lots at this price
are fast disappearing). Therefore, the minimal require-
ment per family in need of a house is about 14,000 pesos.
Under a 20-year installment plan with 10 per cent down pay-
ment and 6 per cent.interest-on the balance, only those
families earning a minimum of 400 pesos a month can afford
a decent house and lot.2 In a 1965 survey of.family incomes,

it was found that only 46 per cent in MetrOpolitan Manila

 

1National Planning Commission, The Master Plan:
City of Manila (Manila: 1956), p. 8.

2Jacobo de Vera, Philippine Housing Situation
(Manila: September-1967), Mimeo., p. 3. '

 

 

 

57

have incomes of at least 4,800 pesos per year. There-
fore, the rest cannot afford to build their own dwellings
without some form of government assistance or support.

The major difficulty is due to the fact that in
the Philippines, like other develOping countries, housing
has not been given the high priority it deserves, not-
withstanding the serious housing shortage. Priorities
are given to food production, education and road building.
The government makes no yearly apprOpriation for low-cost
housing as shown by the estimates that government-built
housing constitutes one per cent, and government-financed
private housing is 20 per cent of the entire housing
activity thus far.1

The U.N. believes that housing furnished low returns
in short run financial terms. However, benefits are derived
from the more balanced development of economic activities
which it supports.2 The provision of housing is necessary
to enable economic-projects to be undertaken or expanded.

Housing provides-the physical link to economic activities.

For instance, factories, workshops, offices and other

 

1President Ferdinand Marcos' Presidential Policy
Statement Series, The Government Housing Program (Manila:

2United Nations, Report on a Special U.N. Funds
for Economic DevelOpment (New York: United Nations BEE;
lication, Sales Number 53 II b. l), p. 9.

 

 

 

58

economic structures are related to employee housing and
failure to establish well planned housing results in a
high economic price in the inconveniences of the city
which are measured in terms of wasted time of man, high
transport cost, etc.1

Housebuilding stimulates the manufacturing of
materials not only for housing but for all kinds of con-
struction. Domestic production of building materials
will help to improve the trade balance. Also, experience
shows that "construction appears to be the first industrial
employment undertaken by the rural migrants.2 Thus, the

importance of housing in the economy can be measured in

terms of employment, production and investment.

Political and Administrative

 

As mentioned earlier, the highly centralized form
of government in the Philippines had affected housing.
The national government has always held control of political
powers and economic resources. Policies are laid.down.

nationally and programs implemented by the national agencies.

1United Nations, Ad Hoc Group of Experts in Housing
ond Urban Development (New York: United Nations Publication,
Salestumber 63 IV, 1). p. 2.

2

 

 

Ibid., p. 13.

59

This arrangement is also true for housing. While the
formulation and implementation of housing program have
been the joint efforts of the state and local authorities
in various countries, in the Philippines this task is
being performed by the national agencies organized to take
care of the various aspects of housing like the provision
of houses or lots, extension of financial assistance, and
the provision of housing services. Aside from historical
precedent, there are many reasons for these. Some of
which are the belief that centralization saves money,
speeds decision making, streamlines tax collection, and
strengthens regional planning. Other reasons are due to
the lack of adequate powers and resources of the local
government to engage in housing, and the lack of well-trained
technical and administrative personnel on the local level.
The major point currently at issue is the relation-
ship between city administrators and the national author-

1 Often, the nationally appointed incumbents and

ities.
the persons they bring with them into city government have
greater skill in political strategem than administrative
capabilities. If, and this has happened, on the other hand,

an elected mayor is a member of an Opposition party, he can

expect little c00peration from the national authorities.

 

1J. H. Romani and M. Ladd Thomas, A Survey of Local
Government in the Philippines (Manila: Institute of Public
AdfiiniStration, University of the Philippines, 1954).

 

60

Relations between adjacent local government unit
frequently lack cordiality among themselves. Metropolitan
Manila, composed of four cities and ten towns, appears to
be quite complex. There seem to be nobody to coordinate
the diverging interests of these areas and to make policies
and.decisions for the urban area as a whole. This situation
is by no means unusual in large cities--as a recent United
Nations study has stated, "the problems of administration
and local self—government arising from the spread of cities
beyond their nominal boundaries have not been solved even
by countries with longest experience of urbanization."1

Lack of advancement Opportunities (compared with
private enterprise) and competition with beneficiaries of
political patronage have diverted many good workers from
public into private service. The morale of those remaining
in public is not high.

Pressures of the unemployed have helped make public
and civil service a receptacle for the jobless. The effect
on the PeOple's Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC),
the primary housing agency, has not only been demoralizing

but financially damaging. In August 1958, the corporation

 

1United Nations, Report on the World Social
Situation (New York: U. N. Secretariat,’l957), p. 134.

 

61

had at least a thousand temporary employees, most of
whom were useless.1 The result was that the PHHC found
itself unable to pay these extra wages from its general
funds.

When the PHHC was Operating a block-making factory
that could produce blocks for about 900 houses a year,2 the
factory's staff was soon loaded with the unemployed, making
the Operation uneconomical. The PHHC was thus forced to
sell the factory toha private Operator, who then sold blocks
to the PHHC at market price.

Being a complex matter to deal with, some political
and administrative difficulties that affects housing are to
be given considerable attention in the following chapter.

The foregoing discussion has shown that a number
of factors, some of which cannot be controlled, affect
housing in MetrOpolitan Manila. An_understanding, however,
of these factors is a great step towards the solution of

the problem.

 

1Charles Abrams, op. cit., p. 82.

2The factory could turn out 6,000 blocks in a
single shift and 12,000 in two shifts at 20 cents a block,
as against a retail price of 34 cents.

CHAPTER V

THE GOVERNMENTAL EFFORTS TOWARD

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

As stated earlier, attempts have been made to
solve MetrOpolitan Manila's housing problem. There are
many government agencies engage in housing and related
activities. (See Figure 5). These agencies can be
divided into four major groups. The first group formulates
housing policies and programs, namely: the National
Economic Council (NEC), the Presidential Economic Staff
(PES), National Planning Commission (NPC), and the Pres-
idential Assistant on Housing and Resettlement Agency
(PAHRA).

National Economic Council - was created in 1935

 

to serve as the economic planning body of the country.
This agency prepares economic and social develOpment pro-
grams, formulates economic policy recommendations on
matters referred to'it by the President, inventories the
country's needs and resources, and coordinates statistical
activities of all government agencies.

62

63

 

 

 

 

 

PRESIDENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES

 

 

 

 

I I

 

 

NATIONAL ECONOMIC

 

NATIONAL PLANNING PRESIDENTIAL
ECONOMIC STAFF

 

 

 

 

PRESIDENTIAL ASSIST-
ANT ON HOUSING AND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEC NPCI PES PAHRA
LOCAL PLANNING
BOARDS
NT 0
Pngs'DENT'AL ARM REGIONAL SOCIAL WELFARE (FOR THE PR‘ATII'VTINGES
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADMWISTRAHON RELOCAT N OF
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES RBAN SOMTTERS
PACD SWA CITRUS
DEPAggMENT DEPT; OF PUBLIC WORKS
AGRICULTURE & COMMUNICATION
Dch
NATIONAL
BUREAU LAND meg A210 BUREAU OF BUREAU OF WATERWORKS
OF- AUTHORITY OFF IC‘EE PUBLIC PUBLIC & SEWERAGE
LAND ‘ I HIGHWAYS WORKS AUTHORITY
3L LA BPH BPw NAWASA
GOVT SERVICE SOCIAL SECURITY HOME DEVELOPMENT :‘g'figpm'i
INSURANCE SYSTEM SYSTEM FINANCING ANK OF THE COOPENRATWE
COMMISSION PHILIPPINE
GSI S S S S S BANK
HFC DBP PNCB
OFFICE OF ECONOMIC
COORDINATION
. ATIONAL
NATIONAL POWER PEOPLES HOMESITE N
CORPORATION 8. HOUSING CORP. OggfiLEmENT
NDC

 

 

 

 

 

 

NPCn

PHHC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIGURE 5

PLANNING ORGANIZATION IN

THE PHILIPPINES

 

64

Presidential Economic Staff - determines
economic priorities in the allocation of public funds,
and effects coordination in the implementation of the

over-all programs.

 

National PlanningCommission - is the central
physical planning body in charge of the preparation of
the general plans, zoning, subdivision and building
regulations, but subject to approval, or amendment by the
municipal or city councils.

Presidental Assistant on Housing - was created by

 

Executive Order No. 67, in 1964, with two main functions,
namely: (1) to formulate a national housing program, and;
(2) to coordinate housing programs of various government
agencies engaged in housing. These agencies are the PeOple’s
Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC), Government Service
Insurance Agency (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS),
“DevelOpment Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and the Home
Financing Commission (HFC).

Besides the aforementioned functions, the Office
of the Presidential Assistant on Housing is also charged
to implement such a housing program in all chartered
cities, municipalities, municipal districts and barrios.

Resettlement Agency - which is under the Office

 

of the Presidential Assistant on Housing was created by

Executive Order No. 68 for the purpose of relocating and

65

resettling squatters. This agency is responsible for
clearing the Quezon-Memorial Park site in Quezon City
from squatters, and relocating them on the PHHC prOperty

in Carmona, Cavite.1

The second major group consists of those agencies
which provide housing or housing lots or both. These.
agencies are the PeOple's Homesite and Housing Corporation
(PHHC), the Land Authority, the Bureau of Lands, and the
Department of Public Works and Communications (DPWC).

People's Homesite and Housing Corporation - was
created by Executive Order No. 93 in 1947, merging the
PeOple's Homesite Corporation (PHC) and the National
Housing Commission (NHC). Its function is to undertake
acquisition, develOpment, improvement, construction, leas-
ing and selling of lands, and Operation of public housing,
relocation projects and subdivision projects. It also
conducted studies and researches on housing-needs, con-
struction materials and techniques.

The Landeuthority - which provides housing and

 

other accomodations to agricultural settlers upon their

arrival in new settlements.

 

1Four Year Housing and Urban Development Program,
F.Y. 1967-1970, Submitted by the Presidential Assistant on
Housing and Resettlement Agency, January 7, 1969., p. 14.

66

Bureau of Lands - which is engaged in subdividing

 

and allocating public lands in or near urban areas for
sale as residential lots.

Department of Public Works and Communications -

 

constructs housing projects only when directed by specific

statute and when provided with special appropriation.

The third major group is composed of agencies which
finance home-building. These include the Government Service
Insurance System (GSIS), the Social Security System (SSS),
DevelOpment Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Home Financing
Commission (HFC), and the Philippine National COOperative
Bank (PNCB).

Government Service Insurance System - operates the

 

insurance and retirement program for government employees.
It grants loans to its members for home construction, and

to private parties for subdivision develOpment and construc-
tion of low-cost housing.

Social Security System — is supposedly the counter-

 

part of the GSIS for private workers. It grants loans to
its members and undertakes housing project. Starting in
January 1968, the agency embarked on a low-cost housing

program for its low income members. The program consists

of the following:1

 

lIbid., p. 17.

67

l. The grant of loans by the agency to employer's
housing projects, at a maximum of 15,000 pesos
per unit;

2. The launching of housing projects by the agency
itself, by purchasing and developing raw lands
and constructing thereon at a massive scale,
housing units, each unit to cost not more than
15,000 pesos, and;

3. Continuation of an existing direct housing
loan program but reducing the ceiling from
60,000 pesos to 15,000 pesos and extending

the amortization period from 15 to 25 years.

The first reason behind the 15,000 pesos ceiling
was to spread out the loanable funds allowed under its
charter for housing loans in order to serve more members.
Secondly, it was believed that the reduction of the ceiling-
and the extension of the amortization period would reduce
the rate of delinquencies. The extension of the amortiza-
tion period would result in the reduction of monthly
amortization payments which would benefit the small borrower
or the low income member.

Important considerations were taken into account
by the agency in determining the feasibility of the low-cost

housing program. These include: the type of house that

68

would be acceptable to its low income members; durability
of the house which should at least equal the 25-year term
of the loan; location, and; cost of the house and lot

that would be within the reach of its-low income members.

Because of this new housing loan program, the Land
and Housing DevelOpment Corporation which is composed of
several private development firms, has reached an agreement
with the Social Security System to construct 500 dwelling
units consisting of single-detached and duplex houses on
its 20-hectare prOperty in Marikina, Province of Rizal.
Each house will have a combined living-dining room, two
bedrooms, and kitchen. The average floor area is 60 square
meters and a lot area ranging from 185 square meters to
300 square meters. The cost of the house is fixed at
10,500 pesos and the lot will cost.22 pesos per square meter.
The develOpment of the site will be in accordance with the
agreedIspecifications.

Development Bank of the Philippines — was created
by the Republic Act_2081 in 1958. It took over the
functions of the defunct Rehabilitation Finance Corporation
(RFC). Primarily, it is a lending institution for agri-
cultural and industrial purposes. Only victims of calam-
ities, such as fire, flood and typhoon are granted a loan,
to the maximum amount of 10,000 pesos for the construction

of their houses.

69

In 1960, the agency approved a financing plan for
low-cost housing. The authorized loan was originally
fixed at 2,300 pesos but was raised to 5,000 pesos in 1967.

Home Financinngommission — was created in 1956
as a corporate body under Republic Act 1557, known as the
Home Financing Act. Under its charter, the functions of

the Home Financing Commission are as follows:1

1. To Operate a mortgage insurance program as
provided in this Act;

2. To encourage, aid, or initiate the organization
or incorporation of building and loan associa-
tions as provided in this Act, and;

3. To promote home building and land ownership,
and to promulgate rules and regulations to

carry out the provision of this Act.

Philippine National COOperative Bank - is a semi-
public agency empowered to finance housing COOperatives.
However, its short-term policy has prevented any housing

cooperative from availing itself of bank funds.2

Finally, there is a fourth group which consists

of those engaged in activities related to housing. These

 

lIbid., p. 20.

2Jacobo de Vera, op. cit., p. 12.

70

include: the Central Institute for the Training and

 

Relocation of Urban Squatters (CITRUS), responsible for

 

the promotion of economic sufficiency and social stability

of former urban squatters; the National Waterworks and

 

Sewerage Authority (NAWASA), charged with the maintenance

 

and Operation of water and sewer facilities; the National

Power Corporation, which provides electricity and electri-

 

cal services to homes and industries; the Social Welfare

 

Administration (SWA), which renders social services and

 

assists the PeOple's Homesite and Housing Corporation in

tenant selection in housing projects, and; the local govern-

 

ment units which provide the necessary municipal services

 

indispensable to safe and comfortable living, such as
garbage collection, police and fire protection, and schools

and health centers.

Review and Evaluation

 

With the above-mentioned organizational set-up of
governmental activities toward housing, it would appear
that the housing problems in MetrOpolitan Manila, being
the center of these activities, can easily be solved. On
the contrary, the shortage of housing is becoming serious
as illustrated by the uncontrolled growth of slums and
squatter areas. Most peOple believe that this is due to

the inefficiency of these agencies in the performance of

71

their functions. A report points out that "one of the
basic problems of the agencies for administering and
implementing housing programs is due to the fact that
its functions are in confusion, overlapping in juris-
diction, and do not perform many vital aspects of their
functions and powers."1 Lack of adequate legislation,
lack of highly skilled and qualified staff, and insuf-
ficiency of funds have aggravated the ineffectiveness of
the agencies in dealing with the housing problems.

The Presidential Assistant on Housing which is
empowered to formulate and coordinate housing programs in
the country has a small staff, with only two of which are
technicians. Although the Presidential Assistant has a
cabinet rank, his effectiveness is hampered by too many
political and administrative problems because he is also
the Chairman and General Manager of the PeOple's Homesite
and Housing Corporation. A combination of lack of funds,
personnel and political factors have made this agency
ineffective.2

The PeOple's Homesite and Housing Corporation has
its own problems. Since its organization in 1947, the

PHHC has constructed and administered 11,000 dwelling units

 

1Presidential Assistant.on Housing and Resettlement
Agency, op. cit., p. 2.

2Office of the President,(Philippines), op..cit.,

p. 98.

72

in 17 housing projects, 11 of which are in MetrOpolitan

1 It is administering 3 projects built by other

\Manila.
agencies for 1,500 families.

These figures are not very impressive for a
23-year old organization. The financial difficulties of~
the PHHC are partly responsible for it, as a result of a
legislation detrimental to the agency's Operation. The
Republic Act No. 3818 passed in 1963, provided for the
outright sale of PHHC houses,-with rental payments being
considered as payments to the purchase price of housing
units. This alone, resulted in a 15 million pesos loss
to the PHHC.

The PHHC landholdings have also been slowly depleted
by special housing projects for government employees,
veterans, newspapermen, etc.; and even its landholdings
outside the Metropolitan Manila have been occupied by.
squatters or used as relocation sites for squatters.

After receiving its original capital of 5.million
pesos, its housing projects have been financed through
loans from the GSIS using as collaterals the vast 1,600
hectares acquired by it before the war. Since the land

has been almost completely sold, the agency needs additional

 

1

Office of the President, (Philippines), op. cit.,
p. 98. -

73

land for the establishment Of new projects and as col-
lateral for develOpment loans.1

Another agency created in order to help improve
housing is the Home Financing Commission. It is this
agency which has-the power to insure loans up to 25,500
pesos for individual mortgages, with only a one per cent
insurance premium. The agency was allowed to insure
mortgages up to 6 per cent (the market rate in 1956) but
the rate now is 12 per cent or more. The regulation has
not been changed.2 As a result, the HFC-financed mortgages
amounts to only 62 million pesos.

The other agencies for housing develOpment are
beset by more or less the same problems. Many agencies
perform related functions which ordinarily could be dis-
charged by fewer organizations. For instance, while the
PHHC-has the power to promote the physical, social and
economic conditions by eliminating slums and providing low
cost housing to those eliminated, a Central Institute for
the Training and Relocation of Urban Squatters (CITRUS),

was empowered to promote economic sufficiency and social

stability of former squatters in the PHHC property at

 

1Jacobo de Vera, op. cit., p. 11.
2If the interest is low, the lack of borrowers is
due to the banks refusing to loan at below market levels.

Therefore, the funds of HFC available for insurance are not
used because loans are not made by the bank.

74

Sapang-Palay. It will_be noted that the National Planning
Commission is also empowered to COOperate with the PHHC
in the location of-housing projects and the elimination
of substandard housing.1
Coordination of the housing agencies presented
another problem. These agencies have not combined their
efforts to maximize the benefits resulting from the per-
formance of their functions, and to minimize time, cost,
and personnel.
In general, the governmental activities toward

housing develOpment have been insufficient and discourag-

ing.

 

lAsteya Santiago, op. cit., p. 20.

CHAPTER.VI

CONCLUSION: GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

The evidence gathered in this study suggests that
many efforts have already been made to solve the housing
problem in MetrOpolitan Manila. Several programs have
been particularly designed to meet the problem of the slum
dwellers and squatters. These programs have.been ineffec-
tive. ’Thus, the overall performance of both public and
private sectors have been unable to meet the housing need.
The ever-widening gap between housing need and production
is in direct prOportion to the growth of slums and squatter
settlements, a problem which calls for the added effort.
and expense of squatter relocation. The significant reason
for this-was the failure to coordinate these programs due
to the lack of a definite housing policy. It is about
time that-this matter be given attention so that the hous-
ing problem will be better understood and adequate treat-
ment given.

75

76

The Need for a Housing Policy

 

In the 1967 and 1968 State of the Nation Address
of the President of the Philippines, he laid down the
basic policy on housing. In 1967, the President stated:.

"I believe that we should tell our financial institutions

to re-examine their policy regarding housing loans. More

incentives should be given in the future to low-cost hous-
ing in order to keep up with our population growth."

In 1968 the President re-emphasized his policy by
involving various agencies, besides the financial institu-
tions, to take part in a massive housing program for low-
income groups. The President stated: "A massive housing
program for low-income groups will be launched under a
coordinated leadership with various agencies of the govern-
ment taking part."

With those policy statements as a guiding principle,
the government should formulate and adOpt a definite housing
policy, which has not been done up to this time.~ This new
policy will need to be translated into workable programs
that will not merely solve the existing housing problem,

but also relate housing to urban develOpment. In addition,

77

it will clarify the role of housing in the social and

economic develOpment of the country.1

Recommendations for a new housing policy are as

follows:

1. Improvement of existing housing conditions.

2. Provision of adequate and suitable houses for
peOple displaced from slums and squatter areas,
people living in unsatisfactory housing conditions
or other eligible peOple.

3. Sell or rent houses to eligible peOple.

4. Develop land for housing and related purposes.

5. Develop residential communities.

6. Extend financial assistance to private sectors
for residential building.

7. Promote building materials research and exper-

imentation to reduce construction costs.

In general terms, the objective is to ensure that

adequate and suitable housing is available to meet the

needs of a large pOpulation whose income is such that they

are unable to finance their accomodation requirements

 

1

In the Philippines, like other develOping countries,

much emphasis is currently being placed on the formulation of
over-all plans of social and economic develOpment and that
such plans require an integrated approach to all sectors of
economy, including the construction of houses and provision
Of related facilities.

78

either by purchase or rentals. Therefore, actions to
facilitate this objective is broadly directed along two
lines which are: (l) encouragement to the private build-
ing sector to construct low-cost housing together with
financial provisions which will put the homes within the
ability to pay of the low-income groups; and (2) the con-
struction by government of, within the limits of available
funds, houses which will be within the economic capacities

of the low-income groups.
Reorganization of the Housing Administration

If the housing policy is to succeed, there must be
some institutional changes in the administration of hous-
ing. It becomes more urgent when one considers that the
present government agencies involved in housing are in a
state of confusion, overlapping in jurisdictions and do
not cover many vital functions.

Initially, the broad national housing functions

were identified and classified as follows:

 

79

 

Functions
I. POLICY PARTICIPATING AGENCYl
1. Policy determination - PAHRA, NEC, PES
2. Planning and Programming - NEC, PES, NPC
3. Research - PHHC, CITRUS
4. Coordination - PAHRA, OEC
II. IMPLEMENTATION
A. Public Housing
1. Urban Land Distribution
a. Homesites - PHHC
b. Urban Estates - PHHC, BL
c. Resettlements - PHHC, PAHRA, LA
2. Urban Housing
a. Rental Housing - PHHC, DPWC
b. Purchase Housing - PHHC, GSIS, SSS, DBP
B. Private Housing
1. Housing Loans - GSIS, SSS, DBP, PNCB
2. Mortgage Insurance- HFC
3. Promotion - HFC
1Legend:
BL - Bureau of Lands
CITRUS - Central Institute for the Training and
Relocation of Urban Squatters
DBP - DevelOpment Bank of the Philippines
DPWC - Department of Public Works and Communica-
tions
GSIS - Government Service Insurance System
HFC - Home Financing Commission
LA - Land Authority
NEC - National Economic Council
NPC - National Planning Commission
OEC - Office of Economic Coordinator
PAHRA - Presidential Assistant on Housing and
Resettlement Agency
PES - Presidential Economic Staff
PHHC - PeOple's Homesite and Housing Corporation
SSS - Social Security System

80

As can be seen, a lOgical approach is to central-
ize the first four functions under Policy which are pres-
ently diffused among various government agencies. Central-
ization at the policy level, preferably in a single agency,
of all related functions would be more conducive to the f”
formulation and implementation of uniform housing policies
and programs as well as the attainment of simplicity,

economy and efficiency. For this purpose, the existing

in ,

 

office of the National Economic Council may be assigned
as the nucleus incorporating into itself the policy functions
performed by the other agencies listed under the policy
function.

Public housing is understood to be mass low-cost
housing intended for low income groups. It is precisely
in this area where duplication occurs among government
agencies involved in housing, due to the insistence of
non-housing but financially-able agencies, such as the
GSIS, SSS and DBP, to undertake housing program or pro-
jects for its low income members. As long as the govern-
ment has no control over funds available for public hous-
ing, this wasteful duplication of functions and activities
will continue. Therefore, it is desirable that all activ-
ities related to public housing be centralized in a single—
agency. For this purpose, the functions and responsibilities
of the several government agencies involved in public

housing would be absorbed by a new housing agency which

81

will be the new Department of Housing. The existing Office
Of the Presidential Assistant on Housing and Resettlement
Agency (PAHRA) may be assigned as the nucleus incorporating
into itself the other agencies performing related functions.
This will not entail much effort, nor expense, and will be
in line with the President's action in raising the status
of the Presidential Assistant on Housing from an Under-

Secretary to the rank of a Cabinet Secretary. This set-up

 

will represent the housing sector at the Cabinet level P
where the allocation of the limited resources of the country
are decided.

The financial institutions would be independent of
the proposed Department of Housing. Some form of coordina-
tion or consultation should, however, be established with
them to assure financial assistance to housing programs,
and also with other government agencies engaged in related
activities.

Private Housing, on the other hand, refers to hous-
ing built by private individuals and developers. The govern-
ment participation in private housing is limited to:

(1) financing houses of private and public employees and
workers who are members of the Social Security System (SSS)
and the Government Service Insurance Systems (GSIS), respec-
tively; and (2) drawing out private institutional capital
(through mortgage insurance) and private savings (through

savings and loans associations) to invest in housing.

82

From this proposed reorganization, the following

functional distribution of responsibilities can be evolved.

POLICY AND PROGRAM

Policy Determination T

_ ._V.xsa. k”
i, I

Planning and Programming National
Economic Council

 

 

 

 

 

Research
Coordination J 1
I J
. -
I
p ‘5.
[ IMPLEMENTATION --------——1
.L . -L- .
Public HouSing Private HouSing
Urban Land Distribution" Housing LoansT GSIS,SSS
Homesites Mortgage )DBP,PNCB
Insurance
Urban estates
H} Department Promotion .5 HFC

Resettlements of HOusing
Urban Housing

Rental Housing

 

Purchase Housing __J

83

Interim Measures — since this proposal for major

 

reorganization of government agencies involved in housing
requires a considerable amount of time, yet some reforms
among the several government agencies must be taken now.
These reforms will serve as interim measures and will
bridge the gap that might be created by making all of the

prOposed major changes at one time. They are as follows:

1. Clarification of functions and jurisdictions
of the several government agencies such as the
PeOple's Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC),
Central Institute for the Training and Relo-
cation of Urban Squatters (CITRUS), the National
Planning Commission (NPC), and the Presidential
Assistant on Housing and Resettlement Agency
(PAHRA) .

The clarification of their functions would
result in savings in Operational expenses, as
duplication and overlapping of functions would
be avoided. It would also result in efficient
administrative procedures.

2. Better coordination of these several govern-
ment agencies involved in housing activities.
The kind of coordination to be done would
depend on the results of the clarification of
functions made.

3. Strengthening these government agencies through
adequate funding, and the appointment of
qualified and highly-skilled personnel.

4. Devising means of revitalizing the numerous
financial institutions by introducing the
necessary amendments to their charters.

5. Organizing a national housing research center
which shall be the official repository of all
housing research materials. It will also pub-
lish informational reports on research results.

an

7'18'5"-.‘.'€" ’

 

11...?
E-a-" -2

84

Clarification of the responsibilities of
the local governments in the establishment
of planning boards and the preparation of
a Master Plan.

Clarification of the relationship between
the public and private sectors in housing
activities. This will promote encourage-
ment among the private sector.

The PrOposed Department of Housing

The Department of Housing will become the primary

government housing agency in the country and is charged

with the following functions and responsibilities:

1.

Purchase or acquire lands, or accept gifts
of land from the Council of any municipality
or from public statutory corporation.

Develop land for housing and related purposes.
Construct houses.

Provide social housing practically free for
destitute families.

Maintain, repair, control and manage such
homes.

Let houses to eligible persons.

Declare any house which does not comply with
the prescribed standards to be unfit for human
habitation or to be in a state of disrepair,
and to demolish or cause to be demolished,
repair or cause to be repaired any such house.

Declare any area where there are houses unfit
for human habitation to be a slum area, and
purchase or acquire such area to be develOped
for housing and related purposes.

 

85

9. Deve10p residential communities with improve-
ments, facilities and means to promote health,
happiness and general welfare of the residents.

10. Advise the public with respect to finance for
the purchase of homes.

11. Advise the private sectors involved in housing “
activities on technical problems. F"”
Eligibilipy for Dwelling Constructed by the Depart-

ment Of Housing.--To.become eligible for a dwelling con-

 

 

structed by the Department of Housing, an applicant must I}
satisfy the department that the family's present housing

conditions are, for various reasons, unsatisfactory and

that he is unable to satisfy his need without recourse to

government assistance.

The main aspects which constitute unsatisfactory
housing conditions are the following: (1) existing dwelling
condemned by the Department of Housing or by the local
authority or otherwise regarded as safety and health hazards;
(2) overcrowded conditions; (3) family sharing accommoda-
tions and conveniences with another family although not
necessarily overcrowded; (4) excessive travelling from
applicant's abode to place of employment; (5) applicant
has insecure tenure notwithstanding that his housing con-
ditions may be otherwise satisfactory, and cannot obtain
an extension of his tenancy; (6) suitable housing accom-

modation is not available at a rental within the means of

86

the tenant or rental being paid is excessive in relation
to the family income; and (7) other special circumstances
such as ill health.

In addition to applicants with families; married
couples and aged persons are also eligible provided that
they have a "housing need." Aged single persons must have
reached the age of 55 years if female and 60 years if male'
to be eligible.

Once an applicant's need for housing is established
and it appears that he would make a satisfactory tenant,
his name is included on the list of eligible applicants
for a dwelling suitable to his family need. However, dwell-
ings becoming available are allocated, in a strict order of
priority, to the earliest eligible applicant. Such prior-
ity is established under ordinary circumstances by the date
on which the eligible applicant forwards his application.

Cases of Exception Hardship.--The Department of

 

Housing might consider families who suffered from natural
calamities such as fire, earthquake, typhoon, etc., out,
of priority order. If the department considers it warranted,

an immediate allocation can be made.
Specific Types of Housing

Social Housipg.--From the scheme formulated by the

 

Office of the President, families having an income of less

87

than 100 pesos per month shall be provided social housing.1
These dwellings take the form of tenement buildings exclu-

sively for families who cannot afford to pay rent. Dwell-

ings will be allocated in a strict order of priority under

ordinary circumstances.

It is questionable, however, whether or not families
could live peacefully in tenement buildings. In a study of
families living in Calcutta, India, it was found that certain
ties are emerging and help to provide social cohesion.

"By virtue of being a member of the families living
in the same tenement, a family is entitled to be
invited to all social functions for which invitations
are extended by one of the families living in a ten-
ement. In other words, soon after renting an apart-
ment in a tenement, the process of socialization with
other members in the tenement begins."2

The above finding clearly obliterate various Opposi-
tions and criticisms against housing families in tenement
building.

Location of social housing shall be in slums or

blighted areas close to places of employment.

Rental Housing.--Housing is normally let at rentals

 

based on the cost of construction, plus costs for land,
maintenance, rates, taxes and administration. This project,

like social housing, could take the form of tenement

 

1See Table 6, page 88.

2H. S. Dhillon, "Group Dynamics in a Bustee: A
Study of Groups and Leadership." Report of the§ominar
in Urban Community Development (Hyderabad: Yura Press,
1979) , p. 127.

 

88

buildings and will be available for eligible families
having an income of 100 to 299 pesos per month at a rent
ranging from 10 to 30 pesos per month.

Consideration should be given to travel to work,
employment, and upward economic opportunity in choosing

new locations.

TABLE 6

Types of Housing Schemel

 

Monthly Income
of Clients

 

1. Social housing - practically free;
peOple have little or no capacity
to pay. below 100 pesos

2. Rental housing - rents from 10-30
pesos per month. 100 - 299 pesos

3. Purchase housing - under a 15-45
repayment plan with 7 per cent
deposit and 6 per cent interest
on the balance. 300 - 399 pesos

4. Private housing - peOple construct
houses on either government or,
private land, with loans from
public or private lending institu-
tions.at 6 per cent interest. 400 pesos and above

 

1Table based on a study by the Office of the Pres-
ident (Philippines), Squatting and Slum Dwelling in Metro-
politan Manila, Philippine Sociological Review, Volume XVI,
Numbers 1-2 (Manila: January-April 1968), p. 99.

89

Purchase Housing.--This project could take the

 

form of row-houses, single and duplex homes which will be
available for eligible families having an income of 300
to 399 pesos per month. A house can be purchased under

a 15-45 year repayment plan with 7 per cent deposit and

6 per cent interest on the balance.

Private Housing.--For families earning a minimum

 

income of 400 pesos per month, the government must provide
incentives to the private sector to enter the housing field
through loans from government lending institutions, liberal-
ization of credits, etc.

Housing for Employees and Workers.--The Department
of Housing should also provide suitable dwellings for pri-
vate and government employees and workers who are members
of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government
Service Insurance System (GSIS) respectively. They will
be entitled to purchase house and lot provided by the
department either by cash or on installment basis.

This project shall be located close to places of
employment and adjacent to thickly pOpulated cities and
towns.

Mobile Housing_to Assist Industry.--The Department

 

of Housing should aid industrial develOpment in the pro-
vision of housing. For this purpose, the department should

purchase mobile houses which are to be used to meet urgent

90

demands resulting mainly from unanticipated industrial
develOpments.

When the Department of Housing receives a request
for housing in this field, it must first investigate the
proposal, acquire and develOp the land, and then let a
contract for a house to be built. It is usually at least
12 to 18 months before a permanent house can be provided
on the land.

The department should study carefully as to whether
the industry will be successful or will be one which would.
flourish for only a limited period° The department, in
making the permanent type house available (usually on
rental basis), must be satisfied that they will be con-
tinually occupied.

Mobile house must be in a form of trailer house
so that it could be moved as frequently as required without
complications. These units usually consist of two bedrooms,
living area, laundry, bathroom, and toilet with most of

the furnishings inbuilt.

The DevelOpment of Residential Communities

 

In the develOpment of residential communities, the
Department of Housing must give consideration not only to
the design of dwellings but to the general landscape lay-

out. This involves a subdivision plan which will be in

91

accordance with the accepted subdivision standards, the
selection of home designs apprOpriate to the climate and
the surrounding area, ample provision of shOps, schools,
churches, parks, playgrounds and other essential services.
As much as possible, the natural landscape of the area
should be preServed.
There will be four classifications of residential
communities, namely:
1. Scattered develOpment - up to 50 lots.
2. Small community from 50 - 200 lots.
3. Medium sized community from 200 - 1,000 lots.
4. Large scale development projects from 1,000-
10,000 lots subdivided into distinct neighbor-
hoods of roughly 1,000 dwelling units each.

Desirability - residential communities must be

 

develOped to meet the needs of the cross-section of the
applicants--large families, medium-sized families, married
couple without children, elderly couples and elderly single
persons.

Circulation - a road pattern that will ensure

 

efficient movement of traffic, reduce the danger to pedes-
trians and achieving as "quiet" a residential environment
as practicable.

Aesthetics - a prOper design and siting of dwellings,

 

planting and maintenance of.trees and shrubs, and the preser-

vation of the natural landscape of the area.

92

Community Facilities - when initial plans are being

 

prepared, consultations are arranged with the various author-
ities, churches, and business and commercial interests.
Church sites are selected by representatives of the various
denominations. Similarly, the school board discusses the.
sites for primary and high schools. The commercial inter-
ests, such as service station, the medical profession and
various chain stores, should maintain close liason with the
department. The local residents themselves must play a

part in the establishment of essential amenities such as
community halls.

Recreational Facilities — suitable land for parks

 

and playground should be provided.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Relocation

 

The government has been doing the program of
relocation since 1951, when 1,333 squatter families in
Manila were relocated to the PHHC prOperty in Quezon City.
As late as 1963, the experience with relocation was still
extremely unsatisfactory. In December of that year, about
5,975 families were relocated to Sapang Palay. As in

former relocation projects, there were inadequate provisions

93

for houses, water, roads, electricity, transportation,
and other amenities. Since the site was 16 miles from
Manila, those with work in Manila had to Spend about 20
per cent of their income for transportation. As a result,
only about 45 per cent (2,800 families) of the peOple
relocated in Sapang Palay were still living there. The
rest had gone back to Manila and suburbs, though they
maintained ghost houses in the relocation area, just in
case the government decides to distribute the lands for
free, or some Speculators wanting to buy "rights" to the
lots would be willing to pay.

It is obvious from the cases cited above that the
government's efforts to solve the problem of slums and
squatting have been dismal failures. However, it would
be wrong to assume that what can be done in the future should
be measured by the half-hearted attempts of the past.
Relocation is still one of the most important solutions to
the problem of-slums and squatting.

Relocation program, in order to succeed, must be
guided by a Standard Operating Procedure and these are the
following: (1) complete survey of persons to be relocated,
noting down the size of the family, source of livelihood,
income, and other information that may aid the planner to
the project; (2) preparation of the relocation site with

basic facilities and amenities; (3) allocation of lots

94

to families before the actual relocation is done. In
this way, confusion could be minimized; (4) clarification
Of the terms of relocation, such as whether families can
hope to own the land and under what manner of payment;

(5) assistance during the actual period of relocation

in terms of tranSportation, food, medical services, etc.
There should be checkers at the relocation site to receive
the peOple and show them their respective lots; and

(6) continued interest in the progress of the peOple,
including programs for community organizations, technical
assistance and eventually, local governments.

In addition, important considerations in any
relocation program which are also to be given attention
are the following: (1) the relocation site must be pro-
vided with such facilities as roads, water, electricity,
etc.; (2) the relocation site must posses an economic base
to provide the relocated people a means of livelihood, and
if there is no immediate means of livelihood, the government
should provide a cheap and convenient transportation system
between a person's job and his new home; and (3) provision
for new housing.

The failure of the past relocation projects may be

traced to a lack of some, if not all, of the above.

95

Resettlement

 

Squatters and slum dwellers who still have interest
in farming are to be encouraged to resettle in other rural
areas either as homesteaders or members of agricultural F.J
settler colonies. They are to be provided transportation,
credit, farm implements and other forms of assistance.

In July 1966, a new scheme for resettling squatter

 

and slum dwellers to rural settlements was prOposed. This é}
was undertaken by the Central Institute for the Training f
and Relocation of Urban Squatters (CITRUS). It involves
the temporary resettlement of urban squatters and slum
dwellers to a training area where they will be introduced
to techniques and methods of farming. Then, the former
squatters would be brought to rural areas, given homestead,
and then helped by the government until they become self-
independent.
One drawback with this scheme is that many urban
squatters and slum dwellers are not willing to return to
the rural areas. Perhaps, the main reason for this unwill-
ingness to return to the rural areas is that Opportunity
there is even more scarce as compared to the city. Besides,
the pattern of migration of urban squatters and slum
dwellers indicate that it is a "two-step" migration. The

migration pattern usually included a secondary urban area

96

and, then, Metropolitan Manila. Therefore, the squatter
or slum dweller has become a very urbanized person and
it would be difficult to ask him to return to the rural
areas.‘

Therefore, it should include a scheme for encour-
aging these people to establish themselves in secondary
urban areas or at the fringes of Metropolitan Manila.
This may require a kind of training in skills that may be
useful in urban areas, such as carpentry, masonry, auto-
mechanic, electronics, etc. The government should also

make job arrangements for these people.

 

Urban Community Development

The program of public housing, and the relocation
and resettlement of squatters and slum-dwellers would
require financial and other resources quite heavy for the
already precarious financial state of the country. To be
more realistic, urban community development program should
be initiated.

Under this program, physical improvements such as
road construction and improvement, the provision of water,
light, electricity, toilets and garbage disposal, the
construction of schools, health centers, community centers
and other services should be the concern of the government.

The people, in turn, contribute their labor or even funds,

 

97

in whatever construction or COOperative efforts are needed
for the community. When such programs are done with the

full COOperation of the peOple, the projects come.out

 

cheaper.

Squatters and slum dwellers in urban areas are {m
usually well-organized, having a strong feeling of community i
identity and solidarity. In part, this is explained by the
frequency of common origin among migrants. There is a
tendency among migrants to establish themselves in an area “J

where they have connections, i.e. relatives, friends or
simply members of their home-community. The other reason
could be that they have formed a closely-knit society by
face-to-face relationships which provides them with personal
and psychological security amidst the complexity of the
city. As a result, organizations and cooperative efforts
such as "ronda" (which means patrol), community fiesta,
pooling of funds and labor resources are quite common.

This human resource should be fully tapped so that slum

and squatter problems should be taken care of by the efforts
of the peOple themselves. The programs of the Social Welfare
Administration (SWA) and the Presidential Assistant on
Community DevelOpment (PACD) should be expanded and their
SCOpe enlarged to include slums and squatter settlements

in the urban areas.

98

Training and Skills DevelOpment.--The govern-

 

mental approach to the slum and squatter problem often
neglects to see the benefit that could be devised through
the joint efforts of the communities and private entities,
such as charitable institutions and civic groups. For Fifi
example, the setting up of a free technical school by
these groups with full cooperation of the community will

provide vocational training for out-of-school pOpulation. ’4

 

I
h '
'5' .
w" 4.

Courses to be offered are carpentry, auto-mechanic,
electronics, radio-television and other household appliances
repair. After graduation, the school will take care of
placing the students to a job which will assure an income
commensurate to their ability.

Aside from being a training school, it could also
be planned as a community center. The complex will include
a gymnasium, an auditorium, and swimming pool, etc., and a
health center. All these facilities would be available to
serve recreational needs of the peOple there.

The Need for a Nation-Wide Urban Community
Development.--For-a successful urban community develOpment,
there is the need for the introduction of this program to
all cities in the country. Aside from MetrOpolitan Manila,
other cities have slum-squatter problems. As long as this
problem is not solved or alleviated, the problem of the pri-
mate city will not be met because the people pushed from

these cities find their way to MetrOpolitan Manila.

99

Land Reform

 

The instability of the economic conditions and
the resulting unrest in the rural areas are factors con-
tributing to the rapid increase of migration to urban
areas. Therefore, if the problem of migration is to be
tackled successfully, the effort to introduce agricultural
land reform needsto be given necessary attention and sup-
port by the national government in its implementation.

The Land Reform program not only helps stem the rural to
urban migratiOn but also influences the development of
rural communities.

The Land Reform Act of 1955 was designed to estab-
lish and distribute as many family size farms to as many
landless citizens as possible, through the Opening up of
public land, either by private arrangements with the owners,
or by exprOpriation in cases where private lands exceed
300 hectares of contiguous area for individuals, or 600
hectares for corporations. Where justified agrarian unrest

exists, land may be expropriated regardless of its extent.l

 

1In the Philippines, over 50 per cent of the-farms
are owner-Operated, about.10 per cent are Operated by
peOple who are only part—owners of their farms, while ten-
ants operate over 37 per cent of the farms. The tenancy
rate is thus high.

The prevailing system of tenancy is that of "Kasama"
or share-crOpping. Under this system, tenants cultivate
the large estates which are divided into small farms for
the purpose. The average tenant farm is 2 hectares from
which a tenant gets a very small income to support his family.
More often, the tenant is in the grasp of the owner.

100

This measure is in fact inadequate because giving
land to the landless is only one step. The national
government should also be prepared to take the series of
succeeding institutional reform steps. These include the,
following: (1) provision of technical guidance and train-
ing; this in turn presupposes, quite apart from land
reform itself, a broad base of technical knowledge and a
research program (e.g., for soil analysis); (2) financial
arrangements to provide credit and capital, not only for
current farm Operations and for land improvement, farm
buildings, and other agricultural investments such as
livestock and orchards, but also, for infrastructure
facilities such as roads, irrigation and power systems,
community facilities for education and health, etc.;

(3) reorganization of the scale of farm plots and farming
Operations, through consolidation of fragmented holdings
or through co-operative arrangements of various kinds, in
cases where this is necessary for efficient production;
and (4) provision of marketing arrangements and adequate
price inducements as well as a supply line of agricultural

requisites.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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"T

 

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