Escudero: Free housing through government land usufruct will benefit millions of low-income Filipinos
Senator Francis Escudero has introduced a bill to provide free housing to low-income Filipinos through a usufruct arrangement. This legal framework allows families to occupy government-owned land without transferring ownership, provided they meet strict eligibility criteria.
Why it matters
This legislation addresses urban homelessness by utilizing state-owned land while preventing the privatization of public assets.
Millions of low-income Filipinos stand to benefit on a proposed law that seeks to institutionalize free housing through usufruct, a legal arrangement that grants families the right to occupy and enjoy government land and housing without owning them.
Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero pointed this out when he endorsed Senate Bill No. 2421 or the Free Housing Through Usufruct Act under Committee Report No. 79 on Wednesday, August 26. The bill is now pending second reading.
“Through usufruct, this bill seeks to grant Filipino families the right to occupy, use, and enjoy government land and improvements for residential purposes, while ownership remains with the State,” Escudero said of the measure.
Under the bill, only underprivileged, homeless citizens who do not own real property and have no affiliation with squatting syndicates will qualify, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement further said.
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