Members of Kadamay express their appreciation to President Duterte, after he announced his decision to award them with some of the low-cost government housing units in Pandi, Bulacan. ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Urban poor group Kadamay on Thursday said it cannot promise to stop occupying idle government housing projects even after President Rodrigo Duterte allowed their members to remain in the housing units they laid claim to in Bulacan.

"Hindi po namin masasabi dahil ang kailangan po, ang mahihirap ay bigyan ng pabahay. Serbisyong panlipunan po ito. Sana maunawaan ng takapakinig natin," Kadamay national chairperson Gloria Arellano said in a phone interview with radio DZMM.

(We cannot guarantee that because the poor should really be given housing. This is a necessary social service, we hope our listeners can understand.)

Since early March, around 4,000 Kadamay members have taken over vacant housing units in resettlement sites in Pandi, Bulacan, including those intended for policemen and soldiers.

The group said the units have been unoccupied for 5 years so the government should just give them away for free.

Duterte, in a surprising development, told soldiers and policemen on Tuesday to let Kadamay members have the houses, and promised to build better houses for the uniformed men.

Although Arellano hailed the President's move, she said the government should just distribute the houses to Kadamay members for free because they cannot pay for the units' monthly dues.

"May taon po iyan na aabot sa P420,000. Hindi po kakayanin ng mga mahihirap iyan dahil ito ay negosyong pabahay. Dapat lahat ng walang pabahay na napakahihirap talaga na nagkalat na sa kalye, tabing-ilog, sa ilalim ng tulay ay nabibigyan ng pabahay," the activist said.

(There will come a year when dues would reach P420,000. The poor cannot afford to pay for the houses which have become a government business. All indigent Filipinos who live in the streets, river banks and under bridges should be given houses.)

The National Housing Authority, she added, should improve the implementation of its resettlement projects.

"Dapat gumising ang ahensyang ito na kailangan ayusin niya ang pamamalakad," Arellano said.

(This agency should wake up and fix their system.)