Rosales, Karina O.

2015-14054
A Quantitative Analysis on the Housing Problem

All researched data were based on the year 2018:

 Population of the Philippines: 106,512,074
 Number of homeless people in the Philippines: ~4,500,000
 Number of homeless people in Manila: ~3,000,000
 Housing backlog: ~5,500,000
 Average household size: 4.4 people
 2018 budget for housing: PHP 4,708,000,000
 Ceiling price for one (1) socialized housing unit: PHP 450,000
(Number of homeless people ÷ Philippine population) x 100 = percentage
Housing backlog/number of homeless people ÷ average household size = number of
housing units needed
Ceiling price x number of housing units needed = budget needed

The Philippines is one of the countries in the world with the most number of homeless
people. Based on the 2018 census, if we were to compute the percentage of Filipinos with
no houses, we would find that 4.22% of the Philippine population are homeless. Following
the average household size of 4.4 people, it could be assumed that the family size could be
rounded off to 5 people. In total, we would get a figure of around 900,000 to 1,100,000
housing units that the government has to build and provide to every homeless family and
informal settler in order to solve the housing backlog.
However, since the 2018 budget for housing was slashed to P4.708 billion, 92% lower than
the previous year, it seems that the Philippines is still very far from solving the housing crisis.
Given the ceiling price of P450,000 per socialized housing unit, the estimated total budget
needed should be P405-495 billion. The reduced budget would not be enough to construct
the required number of housing units even if it were for low-cost and socialized housing. And
if the government were to allot the same amount in 2018 every year, then it would take 86-
105 years to completely solve the housing backlog.

References:
Chandran, R. (2018, March 28). Manila's homeless set to move into more empty homes if
official handover delayed. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/
Michael Bauer Research. (2018, September 20). Philippines Average Household Size.
ArcGIS. Retrieved from https://arcgis.com
Pasion, P. (2017, September 26). Housing sector’s proposed 2018 budget lowest in 10
years. Rappler. Retrieved from https://rappler.com
Tort, M. (2019, February 20). Addressing the housing backlog. Business World. Retrieved
from https://bworldonline.com
Rosales, Karina O.
2015-14054
A Qualitative Analysis on the Housing Problem

Government incompetency and corruption

Cause

Lack of planning Lack of funding

Substandard housing units Core Problem

Difficult to inhabit for users

Effect

Users go back to the city to become

informal settlers again

There are a lot of problems surrounding the housing crisis in the Philippines. One of the core
problems that I see which contributes to the housing backlog is the substandard condition
of housing units, especially that of socialized housing. This stems from government
incompetency and corruption, which is usually the cause of all other problems in the country.
Most incompetent government leaders lack sufficient knowledge to improve housing
conditions. There is also a brain drain wherein talented architects who could help solve the
housing problem are not hired because the government pays low salaries. These result to
poor and ineffective planning (design of housing units, location and access, etc) that don’t
produce the desired outcomes. Lack of funding is also a problem not only because of
corruption, but also because the current government heavily prioritizes giving a huge portion
of the budget to the military and the police, and not to the more important sectors such as
education, health, and housing.
As a result, government agencies such as the NHA and HLURB have difficulties in building
enough housing units that are, at the least, of standard quality. An example is the housing in
Pandi, Bulacan. The houses there were supposedly allocated and to be used by members of
the Philippine National Police (PNP). However, because of their substandard and
uninhabitable qualities, the police did not want the units and left them unoccupied. It was a
waste of funds and resources while millions of Filipinos are still left homeless, and it
definitely did not also help in solving the housing backlog. Some locations for socialized
housing units are also far where it’s hard for resources and supplies to reach, and most
importantly, where there are no job opportunities. The relocated families are then left with no
choice but to go back to the city and become informal settlers rather than to live in a place
with no livelihood and source of income.
In conclusion, the government needs to re-assess their priorities in terms of funding, and the
respective housing agencies must efficiently construct enough housing units for the
homeless in order to solve the housing crisis.