Licensed to kill: an assessment of the urban development housing act in demolitions and evictions in the urban areas

Abstract

Urban poverty has been a very evident problem in the Philippines. It is very inevitable that the urban poor sector is growing. At present there are 32 million urban poor in the Philippines. One of the challenges that these 32 million people face is the right to adequate housing. Although there are many methods that the Philippine government is doing to improve the housing of the urban poor, they are still threatened to lose their homes. Demolitions are still prevalent. Relocations sites are ill-prepared. The Urban Development Housing Act (UDHA) is one of the General State Policies adopted by the Philippines on the right to housing. It is made to uplift the conditions of the underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban areas. This study concentrates on the inadequacy and insecurity of housing in the urban poor sector. This study will assess the effectiveness of laws such as the UDHA in dealing with uplifting the rights of the urban poor especially in housing. In the current administration, 30, 000 families, had their homes are demolished. Excluded from this number are the families whose homes were demolished through intentional fires. Many homes are still to be demolished and placed in low quality resettlement areas due to Public-Private Partnerships pushed by the current administration. For its 20 years of existence has it really served its purpose? Has the law uplifted the lives of the urban sector? With the present situation in the Philippines, the law was implemented in such a way to support the interest of the elite, hence providing false hopes and unsustainable means to uplift the conditions of the poor.