CHAPTER 6 PHILIPPINE HOUSING INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE Housing service delivery in the Philippines is undertaken by a collection of government entities and civil society actors – an architecture which plays an important role in the enjoyment of human rights among Manila’s urban poor communities and highlights some of the political challenges facing the housing sector. The legal regime discussed in Chapter 5 that governs eviction and resettlement also establishes this institutional framework for housing service delivery and defines the responsibilities for government in this field. The number of government institutions responsible for service delivery in housing, and the decentralisation of considerable authority to local government, remains a barrier to effective governance and accountability in the sector. In the context of resettlement, government development agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) also play an active role in eviction activities, adding further dimension to the complex dynamic of stakeholders in Manila’s urban development. The fragmentation of responsibilities across different agencies and levels of government, coupled with a climate of competition in the promotion of different programmes and policies, has acted to undermine the effective provision of housing to the urban poor and compliance with the protection regime established by the UDHA. A fragmented system of housing service delivery, where communities’ accessibility to housing depends to a significant extent on the locality in which they reside or the particular government entity with which they liaise, promotes an environment in which the enjoyment of housing-related human rights is inconsistent. The universality of human rights demands that their enjoyment does not depend on such criteria as locality of residence or government agency jurisdiction. Although the scope of this review is confined to an analysis based on human rights standards, an enquiry into the institutional fabric of housing in the Philippines is warranted to examine the causes of this inconsistent enjoyment of housing rights. Notwithstanding the institutional challenges in the administration of housing, many innovative approaches to land tenure and finance exist in the Philippines to provide alternative shelter and housing strategies for urban poor communities. These options have proved beneficial for urban poor communities to manage their resettlement in many situations. 49