< SEPKESS
¥ LN
4

3 RECE, Z
© on VED

fj Ome 02 gun 201g %4

Republic of the Philippines it Tne: — JB 9 }
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES \em pg H
ri KS

Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _5824

Introduced by Rep. Winston “Winnie”Castelo

EXPLANATORY NOTE

It is quite an altruism that the path to owning a house by an employee leads back to the
door step of the employer. This simply means that individuals as long as gainfully employed will
have the opportunities at their disposal for them to own a house more so if the whole concept
‘of mass housing for interested and qualified individuals is institutionalized and falls under the
mandate of the local government units in Philippine cities and provinces and as part of
corporate social responsibility in the case of the private sector (i.e. industrial firms, business
firms).

In this regard, the national government seems to have dropped the ball. Some private
companies have taken the initiative to embark on mass housing for their employees and
Meralco villages are a good example of what the company does for its employees. Likewise,
certain public and private entities do provide mass housing for their public and private
employees, respectively. Another example is the GSIS villages and so on. This seems to be
based on the healthy program of ‘rewards for work’ and the government at both local and
national levels together with the private sector should walk hand in hand to providing mass
housing opportunities to employees.

This humble measure advocates that the “reward for work” must be a decent, liveable
wage and affordable housing. No self-respecting sector, public or private, must go against what
this author calls ‘pathways-to-housing schemes’ that first and foremost consider that one’s
gainful employment should in fact be a pathway that leads to somewhere. In other words, on
the other side of employment is the open opportunity to owning a house.

For example, such agencies that could plan for their employees are those of the AFP and
PNP that may have already initiated similar housing programs as part of the benefits of their
armed and uniformed personnel as well as perhaps for their civilian employees.


Therefore, this bill proposes that mass housing be part of the mandate of the local
government units and their private sector counterparts as a matter of employee benefits
Whenever practicable, the government may in fact subsidize these innovative schemes with
low interests and on the private sector with a similar arrangement or contractual terms.

‘As the terms and conditions sought to be préscribed and-adopted under this proposed

shall be the policy in public and private sphé
envisioned that if this scheme is replicated in all local government\ units, the problem of


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

5824

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Rep. Winston “Winnie”Castelo

AN ACT
MANDATING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS TO INSTITUTIONALIZE REWARDS FOR
WORK THROUGH ‘PATHWAYS-TO-HOUSING SCHEMES’ ENCOURAGING THEREBY THE PRIVATE
SECTOR TO ADOPT THIS INITIATIVE INTO THEIR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Be it enacted in the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the ‘Pathways-to-Housing Schemes Act of 2015’
SEC. 2. All local government units in cities and provinces throughout the country shall
be mandated to institutionalize ‘pathways-to-housing schemes’ encouraging thereby the

private sector to adopt the same into their corporate social responsibility.

SEC. 3. Under this Act, employees in public and private sector, enjoy as a matter of
entitlement, the privilege to own a house of their own as rewards for their work.

Thereupon, their employers should initiate such ‘pathways-to-housing’ under which
arrangement employers shall grant unto their employees low interest or other similar

arrangement or repayment terms and conditions.

SEC. 4, This Act shall take effect thirty (30) days upon its approval, publication in the
Official Gazette, and in at least three (3) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,