The most conservative estimate of housing need is 86,000 units annually, while the most the government has been able to provide is 13,500 units a year. Another obstacle to building more affordable housing is the staggering cost of land, a problem that plagues countries throughout Asia. Ruben Morales, treasurer of HFH Philippines national board of trustees, points to the Asian economic crisis as having a hand in increasing the need for housing. Factories have closed down, and multinational companies have pulled out. As a result, the Filipino tradition of bayanihan, where the entire community helps a family build a house, has faded.
Job insecurity is high here.
Habitat also is partnering with other agencies to provide job training to replace disappearing factory positions, and to offer microloans to entrepreneurial Filipino women to help the families meet the obligations of homeownership. Popular Filipino Sen. Sonny Jaworski, who spent a day at the Maragondon site, notes that trade agreements and the nation's efforts to improve wages also have contributed to the current housing shortage. We're not a haven for cheap labor anymore. That's a problem. Jaworski says the Habitat model presents an excellent opportunity to meet the Philippines' housing need.