By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

THE proposed consolidation of the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority and the Guam Housing Corporation under one department would not only result in cost savings but would better facilitate the residents’ housing needs as well, according to officials and business leaders who endorsed the reorganization plan yesterday.
While supporting Bill 84, GHC president Joe R. Guevarra suggested that the proposed Department of Housing be guided by a board composed of non-government people who are free of political influence.
Bill 84, introduced by Sen. Frank Ishizaki, R-Yona, seeks to eliminate redundancies and simplify the government’s housing services. Once consolidated, GHURA and GHC would merge their manpower, records and other resources.
GHURA carries out programs aimed at reducing the number of homeless on Guam. It assists residents who want to improve their employment status and living conditions. GHC, on the other hand, provides people with rental housing and the opportunity to own their own houses.
“Although savings will be realized over time through streamlined operations and elimination of redundancies, the big picture in this merger is customer service,” Guevarra told Ishizaki’s committee on government operations and reorganization, which heard the bill yesterday.
The two housing agencies, he added, “will become one entity with the ability to transition a client from homelessness to homeownership through its programs.”
Guevarra, however, suggested that GHURA and GHC retain their “distinct identities” to avoid jeopardizing federal funds that the two agencies receive separately.
Thelma Z. Hechanova, senior adviser to the governor, said Bill 84 provides the template for further restructuring of the government of Guam.
“This is one of the clearest examples of how reorganization improves the delivery of services and also raises the level of service with direct impact on our people,” Hechanova said.