Urban Development and Housing Act (RA 7279)

OUTLINE: i. INTRODUCTION ii. STEP-BY-STEP IMPLEMENTATION iii. EVICTION AND DEMOLITION

(Date of Effectivity: 29 March 1992)

A. INTRDUCTION 1. Constitutional Basis: Art. 13. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS Sec. 9. The State shall, by law and for the common good undertake, in cooperation with the private sector, a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas. It shall also promote adequate employment opportunities to citizens. In the implementation of such programs the State shall respect the rights of small property owners. Sec. 10. Urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their dwellings demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and humane manner. No resettlement of urban or rural dwellers shall be undertaken without adequate consultation with them and the communities where they are to be relocated.

2. INTERNATIONAL LAWS ON HOUSING The International Bill of Rights which consists of 3 Instruments, namely: a) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); b) The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966);

and c) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).

Right to Adequate Housing The right to adequate housing is one of the economic, social and cultural rights to have gained increasing attention and promotion from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlement (Habitat). over 1 B people live in inadequate housing and with an excess of 100 M people living in conditions of homelessness. Added to this, access to potable water and adequate sanitation facilities, which are important basic needs associated with housing, are inadequate. Based on the 1990

-adequate housing is defined as: adequate privacy, adequate space, adequate security, adequate lighting and ventilation, adequate basic infrastructure and adequate location with regard to work and basic facilities, all at a reasonable cost.

Legal Formulation of Housing Rights With the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the right to housing joined the body of international, universally applicable and accepted human rights law. Adequate housing is the right of every child, woman and man everywhere as phrased in many human rights instruments, namely:

Art. 25.1 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights proclaims that: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."

Art.11.1 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ratified or acceded to by 108 States and which contains the most significant foundation of

the right to housing found in the entire body of legal principles comprising the international human rights law) declares that: "The State Parties to the the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The State Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free consent."

UN Declaration on Social Progress and Development (1969) and the UN Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (1976) are other instruments that recognize the rights of everyone to adequate housing.

Government Obligations in the Operationalization of Housing Rights Towards the Justiciability of Housing Rights The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has affirmed that the legal principle or provision of domestic legal remedies are applicable in the following areas: a) legal appeals aimed at preventing planned evictions or demolitions through the issuance of court-ordered injunctions; b) legal procedures seeking compensation following an illegal eviction; c) complaints againstillegal actions carried out or supported by landlords (private or public) in relation to rent levels, dwelling maintenance and racial or other forms of discrimination;d) allegations of any form of discrimination in the allocation and availability of access to housing; e) complaints against landlords concerning unhealthy or inadequate housing conditions; and, class action suits in situations involving significantly increased levels of homelessness.

3. INTRODUCTION TO THE LINA LAW

i. INTRODUCTION

One of the mandates of the UDHA or more popularly known as the Lina Law is to provide for an adequate land tenure system that shall guarantee security of tenure to program beneficiaries. It covers lands in urban and urbanizable areas, areas for priority development, zonal improvement sites, slum improvement and

resettlement sites and other areas that may be identified by the local government unit. However, the following lands are exempted from UDHA (Section 5): 1. Covered by CARP 2. Actually used for national defense and security of the State 3. Those used, reserved or otherwise set aside for government offices, facilities and other installations, whether owned by the National Government. 4. Used or set aside for parks, reserves for flora and fauna, forests and watersheds, and other areas necessary to maintain ecological balance or environmental protection 5. Those actually and primarily used for religious, charitable or educational purposes, cultural and historical sites, hospitals and health centers, and cemeteries or memorial parks This law is a specie of eminent domain wherein public and private lands are acquired by the government for the purpose of socialized housing for the underprivileged and homeless Filipinos coupled with payment of just compensation to private owners whose lands would be acquired for the program.

4. Objectives: a. Make available to underprivileged and homeless citizens decent housing at affordable cost; b. rational use and development of urban land; c. urban growth and expansion: urban-rural interdependence; d. equitable land tenure system: security of tenure to program beneficiaries but shall respect the rights of small property owners and ensure the payment of just compensation; e. people's participation f. LGU capability

5. Beneficiaries:

> Underprivileged and homeless citizen (individual/families in urban/urbanizable areas whose income/combined household income is within poverty threshold and who do not own housing facilities and those who do not enjoy security of tenure) > must not own real property in urban or rural areas > not a professional squatter or not a member of squatting syndicates
The identified beneficiaries shall be subject to the following limitations: a. Beneficiary shall not unlawfully sell, transfer, or dispose of his right to the land b. In the event beneficiary dies before full ownership, transfer of rights to heirs shall take place only upon assumption of outstanding obligations.

B. STEP-BY-STEP IMPLEMENTATION
1. STEPS: 1. Inventory of Lands (sec 7)-the LGUs are required within one year to conduct an inventory of a. residential lands b. government-owned lands c. unregistered or abandoned and idle lands; d. other lands within their respective localities, indicating the type of land use and degree of land utilization. 2. After the inventory, the LGUs in coordination with housing authorities shall identify sites for socialized housing. 3. The following order of priorities in land acquisition must be observed:

2. PRIORITIES IN LAND ACQUISITION (sec 9)

a. Owned by the government b. Alienable lands of public domain c. Unregistered or abandoned and idle lands d. Those within the declared areas for Priority Development, Zonal Improvement Program sites, and Slum Improvement and Resettlement Program e. Bagong Lipunan Improvement of Sites and Services (BLISS) f. Privately-owned lands

Subject to the following rules: a. Government-owned lands which have not been used for the purpose for which they have been reserved or set aside for the past ten (10) years from the effectivity of UDHA and identified as suitable for socialized housing, shall immediately transferred to the National Housing Authority (NHA) subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines or by the local government unit concerned (Sec 8 par.2) b. Where on-site development is found more practicable and advantageous, priorities in Section 9 shall not apply.

3.

Modes of Land Acquisition

a. Community mortgage b. Land swapping c. Land assembly or consolidation d. Land banking e. Donation to the government f. Joint Venture Agreement g. Negotiated purchase h. Expropriation Which shall be subject to the following rules: Expropriation shall be the last resort Small property owners shall be exempted from expropriation Abandoned property shall be reverted and escheated to the State Govt-owned and foreclosed properties shall be acquired by the LGUs or NHA by negotiated purchase Qualified beneficiaries who are actual occupants have the right of first refusal All idle lands shall be expropriated and shall form part of public domain. Expropriation proceedings shall be instituted if, after the lapse of one (1) year following receipt of notice of acquisition, the owner fails to introduce improvements, except in the case of force majeure and other fortuitous events. Exempted from this provision are residential lands owned by small property owners or those the ownership of which is subjected to pending litigation (Section 11).

4.

Disposition of Lands

There are two implementing agencies that shall undertake disposition of lands to the beneficiaries, first is the NHA for the lands belonging to the National Government and second, is the LGUs with respect to private lands in their respective localities (Section 12). Filstream International v CA(G.R. No. 12521: o properties can only be expropriated for socialized housing provided that other modes of acquisition (Section 10) and other properties (Section 9) were first exhausted

City of Mandaluyong v Aguilar (G.R. No. 137152): small property owners, defined

NOTE: However, that in the case of Filstream International v CA(G.R. No. 125218), the Supreme Court held that private properties can only be expropriated for socialized housing provided that other modes of acquisition (Section 10) and other properties (Section 9) were first exhausted. LGUs must show compliance with these two sections before it can exercise eminent domain for socialized housing purposes affecting privately-owned lands. Moreover, in the case of City of Mandaluyong v Aguilar (G.R. No. 137152), the Supreme Court held that small property owners, those who: 1. have residential lands not exceeding 300 sq.m in highly urbanized cities (800sq.m in other urban areas); AND 2. those who do not have other real properties are exempted from land acquisition under the UDHA and cannot be expropriated even if identified as a Priority Area for Development.

5. Salient Provisions:

A. National Urban Development and Housing Framework

a comprehensive plan for urban and urbanizable areas to serve as basis for achieving the objectives of the law formulated by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) under the direction of the Housing and Urban Development Coordination Council (HUDCC) in coordination with all local government units and other concerned public and private sectors

B. UDHA Socialized Housing Program

The housing program of the law provides for: a) Beneficiary listing (coming up with a master list of beneficiaries within one year from the effectivity of the law) a) Land inventory (within the territorial jurisdiction of LGUs) a) Identification of socialized housing sites

a) Acquisition of identified socialized housing sites a) Disposition of lands for socialized housing

C. UDHA Resettlement Program

resettlement of persons living in danger areas o (esteros, railroad tracks, garbage dump, riverbanks shorelines and waterways) and public places (sidewalks, roads, parks and playgrounds) the LGUs, in coordination with the National Housing Authority o are tasked to provide relocation or resettlement sites with basic services and facilities and access to employment opportunities sufficient to meet the basic needs of the affected families. within 2 years from the date of its effectivity (March 29, 1992 - March 29, 1994)

D. Balanced Housing Program

Developers of proposed subdivision projects are required to develop an area for socialized housing: at least 20% of the total subdivision area or total subdivision cost

with the option to comply instead through any of the following: o development of a new settlement; o slum upgrading; o joint-venture projects with LGUs or any housing agency; or, o participation in the community mortgage program

3. Eviction and Demolition (Rules and Procedure)

- The law discourages demolition as a practice. Eviction or demolition may be allowed only when: a. persons/entities occupy danger areas b. persons/entities occupy public places

c. place occupied is a gov't. infrastructure project site d. there is a court order for eviction or demolition e. construction falls under the category: new illegal structure (construction after March 29, 1992) f. structure belongs to a professional squatter or a member of a squatting syndicate

In the execution of eviction or demolition involving underprivileged and homeless citizens, the following are mandatory: (Sec. 28, UDHA, Implementing Rules and Regulations) * 30-day notice

adequate consultation only during office hours and good weather presence of LGU officials all those participating in demolitions must have proper ID the Philippine National Police shall be in proper uniform (their task is not to demolish but for law enforcement and disturbance control only)

* heavy equipment shall not be used except for concrete structures

Section 28 further provides that in the execution or demolition orders involving underprivileged and homeless citizens, the following shall be mandatory: 1. Notice upon the affected persons or entities at least 30 days prior to the date of eviction or demolition; 2. Adequate consultations on the matter of resettlement 3. Presence of LGU officials or their representatives 4. Proper identification of all persons taking part in the demolition 5. Execution only during regular office hours from Mondays-Fridays and during good weather, unless the affected families consent otherwise 6. Non-use of heavy equipment for demolition except for structures that are permanent and of concrete materials 7. Proper uniforms for the members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who shall occupy the first line of law enforcement and observe proper disturbance control procedures; and 8. Adequate relocation whether permanent or temporary to be undertaken by the LGU or the NHA within 45 days from the service of notice of final judgment by the court, after which the said order shall be executed. Should relocation be not possible within the said

period, financial assistance in the amount equivalent to the prevailing minimum wage multiplied by 60 days shall be extended to the families by the LGU concerned. The Supreme Court had a chance to clarify the application of Section 28 of the UDHA to ejectment suits. In Galay v CA (G.R. No. 120132), the Supreme Court said that the provisions of the UDHA on eviction is not applicable to ejectment suits by private individuals against another private individual. The duty to relocate the evictees is only required of the NHA and the LGUs, not of the private owner of the land. For eviction and demolition, a certificate of compliance with the requirements in Section 28 must be secured by the agency implementing the order of eviction. The rule for the same is governed by DILG Memorandum Circular 2008-143(Annex B) and Memorandum Circular 2009-005 (Annex C).

F. Moratorium on Eviction and Demolition

3 years from the effectivity of the law (March 29, 1992 - March 29, 1995)

This while the program components, i.e., the Housing Program, Resettlement Program, and Balanced Housing Program are being accomplished or otherwise set in place.

B. Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Finance Act (RA 7835) Increasing and regularizing yearly appropriation of the major components of the national shelter program. It consists the following major component programs: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Resettlement Program Medium-Rise Public and Private Housing Community Mortgage Program Cost-Recoverable Programs Local Housing Program

Resettlement Program (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 5.2B)

Target Beneficiaries: families displaced by government infrastructure projects; those occupying danger areas such as waterways, esteros, railroad tracks, etc.; and, those qualified for relocation and resettlement assistance under UDHA It has 3 types of program delivery scheme:

1. NHA-Administered Resettlement Program 2. Resettlement Assistance Program for Local Government Units (the LGUs shall provide the land while the NHA provides funds for land develoment) 3. Resettlement Program with Other Government Agencies and the Private Sector (may include 20% balanced housing by developers) Medium-Rise Private and Public Housing (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 3B)

Target Beneficiaries: o For Medium-rise Public Housing: city relocation alternative for families affected by relocation activities and qualified for assistance under UDHA o For Medium-rise Private Housing: housing option to low-income families and to provide rental housing stock in high-density urban areas Implementer: National Housing Authority with the participation of other government agencies, local government units and the private sector Manner of Acquisition: units are to be disposed either through: outright sale or lease, depending on the affordability of the beneficiaries

Community Mortgage Program (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 12.78B)

Governed by all existing CMP guidelines issued by NHMFC Key Players: NHMFC - primary implementer

Gov't. agencies, LGUs, NGOs and POs as originators Community Associations Landowner Cost Recoverable Programs (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 2.542 B)

Undertaken by government through the National Housing Authority in cooperation with LGUs, housing cooperatives, NGOs, POs, landowners, developers and other government agencies Cost of land, land development and housing construction are to be recovered from the target beneficiaries At least 60% of the total number of the house and lot packages to be produced under this program shall correspond to the lowest loan package under the Unified Home Lending Program.

Local Housing Program (Total Appropriation in 5 Years: 3B)

Purpose: o ensure the equitable distribution of housing benefits nationwide Scope: elected urban and urbanizable areas in all congressional districts Local Government Units may avail of the program, subject to the following conditions:

C. PD 772 : ANTI-SQUATTING LAW (Criminal Law) * committed by any person who succeeds in occupying or possessing the real property of another against the latter's will through any of the following means: > force > intimidation > threat > taking advantage of the absence or tolerance of the landowner for residential, commercial or any other purposes D. EJECTMENT LAWS (Civil Law) * Forcible Entry: committed by any person who deprives another of the possession of any land or building by any of the following acts: > force > intimidation > stealth > threat or, > strategy * Unlawful Detainer: committed by any person who has an expired or terminated right to hold possession by virtue of contract, express or implied unlawfully withholding possession from landlord/vendor/vender or other person legally entitled to possession