The concern for human settlements in general and housing in particular has never been more overwhelming than it is today. Everybody talks about housing--from the President of the Republic to the technocrats of the public and private sectors, to the slum dwellers of Tondo. The reason is quite obvious. The magnitude of the present and future needs for housing the country's rapidly increasing population demands that immediate and concrete measures be instituted before this reaches a magnitude of unmanageable proportions.
It is estimated that with the annual growth rate of 3.01 percent in population, the number of urban population multiplies at the rate of four to five percent per year. This situation is further compounded by the proliferation of slum and squatter settlements in centers of population whose growth is estimated to be at 12 percent per year. In addition, we have to consider the housing backlog of previous years and the need to replace substandard houses including those lost through deterioration and natural calamities. All together, the latest estimate of the national annual housing need, based on the 1970 Census, is placed at 375,000 dwelling units or about seven units of new houses per 1,000 population. The present production, however, registers only two units per 1,000 population per year, thereby , creatingan annual deficiency of five dwelling units per 1,000 population.
Indubitably, the foregoing situation calls for a determined effort by the government and private sectors to evolve a more pragmatic, realistic, and workable plan of action to resolve this nagging social problem.
The main objective of this presentation, however, is not so much to overemphasize the gravity of the housing problem since this is obvious, but more specifically, to outline the unanswered questions or issues that confront our policymakers and housing practitioners. Despite our efforts in the field of housing and land development, many issues have remained unresolved and unless these are clarified and understood, no effective policy decision, much less a meaningful program implementation, can ever be pursued.