Creba pushes for affordable housing within transit-oriented sites

*Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations National Chairman Charlie Gorayeb and National President Noel Cariño*

The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders‘ Associations Inc. (Creba) has recently petitioned the government’s Transportation and Human Settlements departments for the inclusion of sites for affordable housing in areas within walking distance of the railway stations that the Department of Transportation (DoTr) is either currently constructing, designing or planning.

In a statement, Creba National Chairman Charlie Gorayeb said with the government providing the land, private housing developers can take care of constructing the housing units in transit-oriented locations. This partnership can significantly increase the supply of decent housing and, hence, improve the quality of life of a large number of still homeless Filipinos around the country.

Meanwhile, Creba National President Noel Cariño cited as an example the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) that the DoTr has started to construct to connect the Clark International Airport in Pampanga to Calamba in Laguna presents a promising solution through transit-oriented development (TOD).

He said that the TOD concept will provide private housing developers with sites to build the required housing units mandated of them by Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act, as amended by Republic Act 10884 in 2016.

Creba has tapped the support of the DoTr and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) in recognition of the important roles that the two agencies play in national development, and the enormous potential contribution that they can both make in addressing the escalating problem of slums and homelessness.

The group feels confident that this type of program, coupled with a creative long-term, low-interest and self-liquidating home financing scheme, the government and the private developers sector can establish a solid foundation for effectively meeting the housing needs of Filipinos now and in the years to come.

Article and Photo originally posted by The Manila Times last July 26, 2021.