Habitat for Humanity Philippines
| Contact information | HFH Philippines
3rd Floor, 111 Paseo Condo Building
Tower 1, Paseo de Roxas
Makati City
Philippines
Phone: +63 28462177
Fax: +63 28973248
E-mail: info@habitat.org.ph
| | Web site | www.habitat.org.ph
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Philippines -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
THE PHILIPPINES encompasses a thriving economy and a multitude of vibrant cultures. It is also one of the world’s most urbanized places, with 65 percent of its population living in cities. Metro Manila, the country’s most densely populated region, comprises 16 cities and one municipality. With more than 11 million people, Metro Manila is one of Asia’s megacities.
Poverty remains largely a rural phenomenon. As the country urbanizes, however, poverty has become more evident in towns and cities. Currently, about 30 percent of the poor live in urban areas, but, by 2025, more than half of the urban dwellers will be poor. People who live in urban areas are confronted with the high cost of land, which the World Bank considers to be among the greatest impediments to improving housing conditions.
The government estimates that between 2005 and 2010, the country needed some 3.8 million new homes, with demand concentrated in Southern Tagalog, Metro Manila, and Central Luzon. The housing shortfall does not include people who are displaced by natural disasters and civil conflict. In Metro Manila, more than 126,000 families live in the slums often on exposed riverbanks, dumps and polluted highways and railroads. Those living in squatter communities also face the risk of fire.
Since 1988, Habitat for Humanity Philippines has played an active role in providing decent, durable and affordable housing for families in need. It started in the Cagayan Valley Region in the north and in Metro Manila. Through a network of project offices in rural and urban areas, HFH Philippines has built and repaired tens of thousands of homes. Habitat has also assisted more than 5,000 families displaced by typhoons, fire and landslides.
HFH Philippines uses mainly a Building-in-Stages housing microfinance model for the construction of core houses. These houses have an area of 20-24 sq. m. each. Once an initial mortgage has been repaid, home partners can take out another mortgage to add new rooms or facilities.
Through its urban renewal program, HFH Philippines also builds efficient and affordable medium-rise condominium-type structures in areas where land is scarce and expensive. Each unit measures about 26 sq. m. in size with an additional 9 sq. m. in common areas.
In addition to homes, HFH Philippines builds school classrooms with the help of various corporate supporters. Since 2007, Habitat has constructed more than 420 school classrooms.
HFH Philippines works in partnership with government entities, business corporations, non-government organizations and local microfinance institutions. One major partnership is for a seven-year project to clean up the Pasig River in Metro Manila. Habitat is leading house construction for informal riverbank settlers in the resettlement site in Calauan municipality, Laguna province, southeast of Metro Manila.
Tapping on expertise developed from disaster response projects, Habitat is helping to rebuild lives and communities after the devastating Typhoons Ketsana and Parma in September and October 2009. With the support of donors, HFH Philippines has been distributing shelter kits which include basic construction materials to help affected families repair their damaged houses. HFH Philippines extended similar help to families who are affected by Typhoon Megi in Luzon region in the northeast in October 2010.
HFH Philippines first undertook post-disaster reconstruction in the BASECO Bagong Buhay community, in the port area of Manila, in 2004. It helped to build 1,000 homes for informal settlers whose shanty town was badly damaged by a fire. Subsequently, Habitat lent its expertise to construct and repair homes and classrooms in disaster-affected areas of Southern Leyte, Bicol and Iloilo.
Several Habitat programs in the Philippines have been supported by multilateral funding agencies. For instance, the European Union funded multi-story residences in Taguig City, Metro Manila, while the European Commission provided a grant to house people displaced by conflict in the southern island of Mindanao.
HFH Philippines also extends the reach of its programs via a resource center located in Manila. The center has developed concrete interlocking block and modified hollow block technologies. Home partners can produce blocks on site, providing them with a source of livelihood and easy access to building materials. The center also works with New Zealand steel frame technology that is cost-efficient, volunteer-friendly and typhoon-resistant.
HFH Philippines has a large, active and multifaceted volunteer program, including a Habitat Youth Council. The Friends of Habitat is a body of influential individuals from different walks of life who contribute their financial resources, time and talent. Church congregations and tens of thousands of students and young people take part in regular “Building on Faith” and “Youth Builds”, and other special events such as “Peace Builds” with Muslims in conflict areas in the south. The Philippines also hosts dozens of international work teams each year. In 1999, some 14,000 volunteers took part in the Jimmy Carter Work Project in the Philippines.
HABITAT HIGHLIGHTS
COUNTRY FACTS
Population: 99,900,177 (July 2010 est.)
Capital: Manila
Area: 300,000 sq. km.
Ethnic groups: Tagalog 28.1%, Cebuano 13.1%, Ilocano 9%, Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon Ilonggo 7.5%, Bikol 6%, Waray 3.4%, others 25.3% (2000 census)
Languages: Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
Religions: Roman Catholic 80.9%, Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo (Church of Christ in Tagalog) 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christians 4.5%, others 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1%(2000 census)
Literacy: 92.6% (2000 census)
Urbanization: 65% (2008)
Population Living on US$1.25 a Day: 23% (2008)
Access to Improved Water Sources: 91% (2009)
Access to Improved Sanitation Facilities: 78% (2009)
Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Bank
Updated January 2011