There was at once a sense of aggressiveness and certainty in the manner the Office of the Vice President was making public assurances on the implementation of the government pro-poor housing program.
Vice President Jejomar Binay, in accepting the offer of President Benigno C. Aquino III, to head the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, has assured the public of "efficiency in the housing sector" under his administration.
Unlike in the past, the government housing program will now be "pro-poor because that's one of the hallmarks of the Vice President," a spokesman of the former Makati mayor declared.
As we all know, the same office was occupied by then Vice President Noli de Castro during the Gloria Arroyo administration.
Early on, Binay had indicated his preference for a Cabinet position as secretary of the Department of Local Governments but was immediately told he could not have it, and was instead offered the Agrarian Reform Department or the Metro Manila Development Authority, or the Housing Coordinating Council.
He accepted the housing office because of its main function of helping the poor, he explained.
Now Binay is saying the housing sector under him will not be "business as usual," as it is geared to attend and serve the needs of the homeless and the neglected poor.
Homelessness, certainly, is a most pitiable situation in life and you see them - the homeless and the very poor in the cities, in towns and in the barrios, everywhere - in the rut of ancient poverty amid the glitter of easy life among the well-off among us in this modern underdeveloped country.
It is in this light, I suppose, that the Vice President is moved to exert sincere efforts to explore possibilities towards favorable prospects for better life from the people's desperate poverty.
Of course, the challenge is formidable, considering the complexity and interrelatedness of all aspects of the whole process of change that Vice President Binay is seeking to achieve through his position in the Aquino administration as housing czar.
By accepting the responsibility, Binay has already made an attempt to be a modernizing force in society.
Let's us all wish him success.
