5) Description of housing product/service offering: With globalization, high urbanization rate, market and investment-driven development policies have pushed Philippine urban land and values outside the reach of the urban poor who comprise 20-30 % of the total populace. On top of this, the predominant focus on a single approach of title ownership to obtain secure tenure has commodified urban lands and has exacerbated the problem of access thereto and shut the door for the entry of basic services for the poor. Consequently, there is a need to find alternative and viable approaches to obtaining secure tenure less than the elusive title. The Homeless Peoples Federation Philippines (HPFP), a national federation of urban poor communities and associations which implement community initiated processes for secure tenure, has accepted this challenge. While formally registered in 1998, it underwent substantial evolution from its origins in dynamic savings groups the Payatas Dumpsite in Quezon City Philippines. From an initial membership of 6,000 families, the HPFP has now grown into a 50,000 strong movement from Luzon (north, NCR, South NCR) , Visayas (Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Mandaue, and even Guinsaungon in Southern Leyte) and Mindanao (Davao, Digos, Kidapawan, Gen Santos and Butuan). HPFP’s work comprise the following: a) set up savings schemes and the Urban Poor Development Fund which enable communities to mobilize funds to purchase and develop their lands; b) helps orient communities on the legal and technical requirements of purchasing and developing their own land; c) provides feedback to government on requirements and fees which are too unrealistic for low-income communities; d) community land acquisition and improvement; e) conduct of community led surveys of high-risk located communities; f) engagement with government for secure tenure and good urban governance ; g) mobilizing learning communities through hands on training and exchanges in community, city, region, national and even international levels; h) developing technical capacities; i) designing of community- oriented relocation projects and processes; and j) the establishment of an alternative shelter finance facility. Assisting the HPFP is its long-time support institution, the Vincentian Missionaries Social Development Foundation, Inc (VMSDFI), the social arm of the Congregation of the Mission (CM) of St Vincent De Paul, and the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc (PACSII). The latter is the network of support institutions including the VMSDFI and other technical, legal, social and finance-oriented institutions and individuals which serve as the intermediary support in terms of technical, legal and capacity building for the HPFP in the implementation of its programs.

6) Description of innovation: The HPFP has also ventured into a more innovative mode of providing immediate shelter and future opportunities for improved urban quality of life via a negotiated “Usufruct” scheme. This involves a 2 hectare donated property in Brgy. Bagong Silangan, Quezon City (adjacent to Payatas) which HPFP has been developing as an alternative resettlement for wastepicker families affected by 2000 Payatas trashslide and the ongoing dumpsite conversion. As a post-disaster response, the Project has so far relocated around 144 families (since 2001) with continuing site development and housing construction targets relative to availability of investments. Beyond the consideration for the scale of delivery and development (which understandably remains incremental for a capital-intensive venture), however, is the potential breakthrough such project poses in terms of further developing an alternative “Usufruct Scheme” whereby the immediate beneficial use of the land is legitimately transferred to the slum-dwellers without necessarily involving transfer of property (as a limiting clause in the donation contract). While the legal implications of such emerging alternative are still to be fully studied and established, profound philosophical grounds can be readily realized. The negotiated usufruct scheme in market-dominated urbanization contexts is a way of giving back to land its primordial social value than just retaining its market value as a commodified urban resource. “Usufruct” as a concept is meant to enhance quality of human lives or building human and social capital where land itself serves as a vital resource for building decent shelter and opportunities to improved urban livability. The still evolving “usufruct scheme” poses a challenge to re-think development thinking of development in terms of “space” for human and social capital formation among slum-dwellers than in terms of finance and market-driven asset building. Restoring the social value of land likewise implicates the social responsibility particularly of the landed or principles of social justice, stewardship and integrity of creation and in the process facilitates maintenance of sound nature-human interface. Specifically, the HPFP bagong Silangan initiative posits the following: a) The scheme shows that even without the issue of title acquisition, sustainable tenure can be achieved. This is more evident when seen in the light of the ongoing capacity building of the families in terms of community savings and governance through hands on training from the HPFP, and the other complementary initiatives like the livelihood and market access scheme; b) the usufruct scheme can be utilized in various ways to fit the needs of communities; c) consultation and orientation complements the evolving nature of the HPFP usufruct scheme which results in more participation among the families and vouchsafes more appropriate responses to emerging needs; d) shows the importance of coming up with appropriate and acceptable instruments articulating the terms of the usufruct scheme; e) manifests the advantage of ready access to and sufficiency of basic institutions and services; f) presence of a strong community association in complementation with strong intermediary institutions’ support help ensure more meaningful secure tenure partnerships; g) scheme paved the way for government to concretize its investment to the housing project beyond the rhetoric of the UDHA; h) the scheme also can serve as alternative compliance to the legally mandated balanced housing strategy for private sector to buy in to social housing; i) the usufruct scheme paves the way for an emerging community-led mechanism for housing fellow urban poor, that is primarily meant to promote and establish communities’ influence and involvement in city development processes particularly in addressing the dilemma of slum- dwelling and securing immediate access to decent shelter beyond finance and land markets constraints.

7) Benefits to clients: The HPFP focuses on obtaining secure tenure for the high risk located urban poor communities (danger zones, geo hazard areas, public places, sites of government mega- infrastructure projects; and those susceptible to court ordered demolition and eviction). Identification of these communities is done through a community-led process of survey enumeration using simple yet comprehensive indicators and processes that is easily understood and implememented by volunteer HPFP member communities and those from the high risk communities themselves. The process also involves coordination with and leveraging of manpower from the barangay and city. The affected communities communities then are assisted in consolidating and analyzing the data (assisted by the HPFP, PACSII and the academe) for the articulation of community developmental and secure tenure issues for engagement with government. After the identification of affected communities, HPFP then conducts orientation on its programs, initiates hands on, exchanges and conceptual trainings on community savings, bookkeeping, community governance and leadership, para-legal and para- engineering, as well as land and contracts negotiation, networking and coalition-building skills as a complete social preparation framework. Lastly, the push for community participation / stake in the Urban Poor Development Fund (UPDF) and the savings program not only builds financial capital base but serves a development framework for these communities.

8) Key operational partnerships: Community: Being a community driven undertaking, the communities’ stakes in terms of their willingness to implement the savings program and the openness and zeal to participate in the ongoing discussions and evolution of the usufruct scheme and its implementation and documentary aspects is a pivotal component. The HPFP as the mother federation: The HPFP is the implementing arm of the VMSDFI and ultimately the landowners (CM and Hospicio), and the intermediary support of the communities in the Bagong Silangan usufruct initiative. HPFP conducts the orientations, the community consultations, the linkaging and facilitation work for the continuing evolution of the scheme in coordination with the affected communities, PACSII and the government. PACSII / VMSDFI: These are intermediary support institutions that provide technical, legal, documentary and finance management support and capacity building to the HPFP and its member communities. Landowners/ Donees: The Congregation of the Mission of St Vincent De Paul (CM) and the Hospicio de Jose congregation provide the use of the land which serves as the platform for the usufruct scheme to be an alternative secure tenure scheme. Government: As partners, the national and the Quezon City LGU provide a mixture of grant / subsidy funds for the housing and site development component as well as tax breaks. fees exemptions and human and technical counterparts to the initiative.

9) Financial model: The essence of the HPFP is secure tenure through community- led processes. One of which is the building up of communities’ financial asset base and development through community savings. Savings program, where members save for family and community needs. The savings products include: Compulsory savings – For savings groups that intend to avail of business or providential loans (from 1.2 to 1.8 times the amount of their savings); Voluntary savings – For individuals who want to save money which they can withdraw anytime; Land and housing savings – For communities that have bought or are planning to purchase property and wish to save for equity contribution and monthly amortization; Health insurance – For individuals and families who want to avail of free medical consultation and check-ups, medicines, and hospitalization; Mortuary fund – For individuals who want to ensure that, upon their death, financial assistance will be provided to their beneficiaries. Members contribute a minimal amount monthly in exchange for P10,000 (US$ 200.00) in mortuary support that their beneficiaries will receive; and the Urban Poor Development Fund – For associations that want to avail of loans to fund proposed or ongoing infrastructure development in their communities such as road construction, drainage construction, and a water distribution system, involving a mandatory $1 monthly individual contribution to the fund. The thrust of late is the scaling up of the UPDF from community savings to city funds where participating communities pool their funds to on lend or inter-lend among themselves in accord with their own formulated admin, finance, legal and documentary requirements and processes pursuant to broad national guidelines thereto . A further development is evolving the UPDF into an alternative shelter finance facility that serves as the platform for institutional buy-in of other stakeholders like PACSII, government, banks and private sector.

          • Costs as percentage of income: 10%

          • Financing: The initiative is supported by a combination of grant funds from foreign donors, the national government, and community savings. These are complemented by land, human, technical, legal resource training and tax, permit fees and labor counterparts by the landowners, support institutions, the Quezon City government, the private developer.

10) Effectiveness

          • Project outcomes: In terms of the impact and scope, the Bagong Silangan usufruct scheme has provided immediate secure tenure to more than 144 urban poor families since 2001 (720 individuals if pegged at 5 family members per family). 100% of which belong to the “low income or marginalized” groups from the waste picker population in the Payatas dumpsite. The 2 hectare Bagong Silangan site will cater to _______ % of the demand of the totality of the wastepickers ( __________ ) that will be displaced by the closure and development of the entire Payatas dumpsite.

          • Number of clients in past year: In terms of the impact and scope, the Bagong Silangan usufruct scheme has provided immediate secure tenure to more than 144 urban poor families since 2001 (720 individuals if pegged at 5 family members per family). 100% of which belong to the “low

          • Percentage of clients that are poor or marginalized: 100

          • Potential demand: In terms of the impact and scope, the Bagong Silangan usufruct scheme has provided immediate secure tenure to more than 144 urban poor families since 2001 (720 individuals if pegged at 5 family members per family). 100% of which belong to the “low income or marginalized” groups from the waste picker population in the Payatas dumpsite. The 2 hectare Bagong Silangan site will cater to 34.2 % of the demand of the totality of the wastepickers 1,000 families of that will be displaced by the closure and development of the entire Payatas dumpsite.

11) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Scaling Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: To date, the Bagong Silangan initiative is online for expansion in terms of construction of new medium rise buildings of housing units and satellite markets (talipapas) in the site. There are discussions with the original donor family for additional lands to be either donated to the congregations for replication of the usufruct scheme. Moreover, recent engagements by the families, HPFP and its support institutions VMSDFI, Philippine Action for Community-led shelter Initiatives, Inc (PACSII) with the national housing authorities have resulted in discussions to initiate an urban farming scheme to complement the planned satellite market establishment to address sustaining livelihoods among the families. The expansion brings with it new challenges and further articulation of the usufruct concept

12) Origin of the initiative: The usufruct initiative traces its moorings in the need to find acceptable sites for relocating the 2000 Payatas Dumpside trash slide. The HPFP and the VMSDFI have already initiated 2 project sites: Golden Shower (through the Community Mortage Program, and ADB assistance) and the Montalban (Direct Negotiated Purchase from the landowner by the resettled communities, with community savings, VMSDFI and Misereor, Domus Mariae assistance) long before the tragedy occurred. The Bagong Silangan site was a third area which fulfilled the criteria of proximity, and access to basic services and institutions. Unfortunately, the lands involved had restrictive donation conditions attached so that the CM and Hospicio as donees cannot dispose of the same through sale. This context led the VMSDFI and the HPFP to search for documentary and legal frames to support the ongoing relocation and site development in the area. Researches and discussions with SALIGAN, a legal resource NGO, member of PACSII pointed to a usufruct arrangement as a legal concept. Needing practical antecedents, VMSDFI executive director Rev. Father Norberto Carcellar, C.M. witnessed the social housing program of Tagaytay City utilizing the usufruct scheme in a Cities Alliance discussion and requested the HPFP to study the scheme and adopt it in the bagong Silangan cntext.

Contact Information:
Norberto  Carcellar C.M.
Regional Coordinator
Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc (PACSII)
(Network of intermediary support institutions (NGO))
223 Tandang Sora, Quezon City, Philippines
Philippines
Tel: (02) 4559480
Email: pacsii@info.com.ph