The 21st Davao City Council on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, approved on third and final reading the Local Shelter Plan of Davao City for the years 2022–2031.
The measure was proposed by Davao City Councilor Diosdado Mahipus Jr., Chairperson of the Committee on Housing, Rural and Urban Development.
“Kini nga local shelter plan naa diri nakahan-ay ang atong pagabuhaton aron matagaan nato og saktong kasulbaran ug katubagan ang mga hagit sa pabalay sa Davao (This Local Shelter Plan aligns all our strategies to properly address the housing challenges in Davao),” he said in a media interview Tuesday.
Mahipus said that based on City Housing data, more or less 15,000 Informal Settler Families (ISFs), underprivileged, and homeless citizens in Davao are targeted to have houses by the end of the planning year 2031.
“Incorporated in this plan are the affordability strategies,” Mahipus said, adding that among the proposed schemes for housing are public rentals, rent-to-own, lease, and usufruct.
“Dili lang automatic transfer of property unya lain-lain pud nga klase ang pagatukuron — naa ta’y single attached, single detached, naa pu’y midrise, ug naa pu’y lain-lain nga schemes nga atong ginapaningkamutan ma-approve diri kay mao ni ang among tan-aw nga makatabang aron masayon ang pag-angkon sa pabalay diri sa siyudad sa Davao (These are not just automatic transfers of property; there will also be various types of houses to be constructed—single attached, single detached, mid-rise buildings, and other schemes we aim to approve, as these are what we believe will make owning a house in Davao easier),” he said.
Mahipus said they seek to reach the target number of houses with the help of partnerships with national government agencies and the private sector.
After the approval of the ordinance, the council aims to amend the Shelter Code, which will contain the provisions on how the shelter plan will be enforced and implemented.
Yuri Partol, Acting Officer-in-Charge of the Davao City Housing Office, told reporters that with the passage of the ordinance, their office will continue to prepare the resettlement sites for the target number of housing beneficiaries.
“We determined that around 14,000 belong to the lowest income group. That is why we want to prioritize them as our beneficiaries. Based on this, we will construct resettlement sites to primarily cater to them. This doesn’t mean we will not cater to those belonging to higher income groups—only that we will prioritize those in the lowest income level because they are in most need of government intervention,” Partol said.
Partol added that their office continuously lists beneficiaries because demolitions are conducted every day all over the city.
“We have mechanisms like the Local Housing Board and the Task Force on Relocation and Settlement to really look into individuals displaced or removed due to court eviction. We have an existing list,” Partol said. CIO
