National Housing Authority, Diliman, Quezon City
February 8, 2017

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte led a dialogue with partner communities of the National Housing Authority (NHA) at the multi-purpose covered court of the NHA Office in Diliman, Quezon City.

In his speech, the President promised to provide the 200,000 available shelters for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda and Typhoon Pablo, rent-free. “Basta ako pa ang Presidente, libre na ‘yan,” he said.

President Duterte also discussed the administration’s goal of eliminating red tape in the government and told NHA officials that all-important documents that reach their desks be signed within 15 days.

The President also asked all NHA employees to be courageous and to remain steadfast against corruption. He added that the reason why most people become corrupt is when “you crave for things…”

In a moment of retrospection, the President spoke about his past with his Cabinet members and long-time friends, such as Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, Jr. who is also the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman. “We are migrants to Mindanao. We had a hard life,” President Duterte said.

The Chief Executive was accompanied in the event by Secretary Evasco, Jr., National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Liza Maza, NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada, and other key officers from the government’s housing sector.

The NHA event was anchored on the theme “Pabahay: Tunay na Pagbabago ng Pamayanan sa Tinig ng Mamamayan” that aims to recognize the voices of different sectors involved in providing shelters to Filipino families, allow the development of responsive housing policies and programs, and involve different sectors in validating proposed policies and program directions for key shelter agencies.

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