Evaluation of the housing policy of the Philippines: Is there an enabling approach?

High population growth rates and accelerating urbanization in many developing countries mean that the housing situation is deteriorating rapidly. The United Nations (UN) resolution on Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000 with its 'enabling' approach was advocated in order to draw more attention to the need for an improvement of the housing situation worldwide. An enabling approach in housing emphasizes that the government's role is to guide shelter development and to focus on the mobilization of resources and actors at all levels, such as the public, private, formal and informal sectors. In this study, housing policy and development in the Philippines are analysed, as well as the adoption of an enabling approach in government policy. The major housing problems in the country are lack of land tenure, an inadequate level of basic services, and living in hazardous areas. These result in high housing needs, both in new construction and upgrading. The low affordability of households due to poverty and high unit costs lead to an increase in informal settlements. The government of the Philippines has a long tradition of intervention in housing. The upgrading and sites and services projects of the 1970s were the first carried out with international assistance. The government approved in 1986 the National Shelter Programme which is to provide the people, especially the lowest 30%, with adequate housing facilities through affordable financing packages. Since then government assistance has increased and now amounts to about 120 thousand units of assistance annually: this includes direct production and housing finance. However, compared to housing needs, this assistance is still marginal and to make is more effective it should be redirected to support for more local activities, i.e. strengthening the capacity of the local government units and the communities themselves to improve the shelter situation, and target government assistance more on a regional-basis. The implementation of the Urban Development and Housing Act gives the basis for the decentralization and redirection of shelter related activities. In addition, other activities are also needed, such as institution building and reshaping the role of the main housing agencies. The most urgent problem needing effective action is the question of land tenure. This study is a combination of policy analysis and evaluation research. Policy papers, implementation guidelines and reports of the key housing agencies constitute the main data sources. The publications of UNCHS (Habitat) and the World Bank form the source for the description of the enabling approach.