MANILA - Malacañang on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte will not allow another takeover by Kadamay of idle housing units intended for police and soldiers, after members of the urban poor group attempted but failed to occupy homes in Rodriguez, Rizal yesterday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte has given directives to the police that Kadamay should not be allowed to take over housing units intended for government troops.

Members of the Kadamay local chapter Montalban Homeless Association trooped to the La Solidaridad-Avilon Zoo housing project on Wednesday supposedly to occupy idle housing units, but they dispersed later in the afternoon.

• Pabahay para sa mga pulis, sundalo inokupa ng Kadamay

The group said they were only asserting their rights based on Congressional Joint Resolution No. 2, signed by Duterte last May, which allows the awarding of unoccupied housing units to other qualified beneficiaries.

• Duterte OKs awarding of unoccupied housing units

Roque said the President already asserted that Kadamay’s takeover of housing units in Bulacan last year should be “the first and the last” for the group. Duterte had earlier allowed Kadamay to keep the Bulacan housing units and promised cops and soldiers of bigger and better homes.

“An order has been directed to the NHA (National Housing Authority) to explain why we have idle housing units and when they intend to give these housing units to their intended beneficiaries,” the spokesman said.

• NHA: 55,000 gov't housing units remain unoccupied nationwide

The Department of Budget and Management said P20.779 billion was released to fund housing projects for cops, soldiers, and other uniformed personnel as of March 31, 2017. The budget was allocated for the building of 74,195 housing units.

The NHA said of the 74,195 housing units, 68,836 was already completed as of July 31, 2017. Of the completed units, only 8,837 are occupied.