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IN a bid to address the Philippines’ housing backlog, the Board of
Investments (BOI) has decided to extend the grant of tax incentives
and other perks to mass housing projects.
Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila, who is also BOI
chairman, said incentives to this sector would encourage more real
estate developers to engage in affordable housing projects.
“This will also fuel real estate firms to
develop new and innovative housing technologies,” he said.
Favila said that by providing incentives,
affordable housing will be made available to low-income earners, and
overseas Filipino workers. Overseas Filipino workers account for
half of house-and-lot buyers in the country.
According to the Medium Term Philippine
Development Plan 2004-2010, the country’s population will need at
least 3.756 million units of housing, while the government’s
housing target for the period is set at 1.145 million units.
This target pertains to the housing target
assistance or shelter security units, which people can avail of
through programs of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating
Council (Hudcc), National Housing Authority, Home Development Mutual
Fund, National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., Government Service
Insurance System, Social Security System and the Development Bank of
the Philippines.
Favila said that about 2.6 million housing units
would not be covered by the government’s housing assistance
package.
“The shortfall is an opportunity for the
private sector to participate in socialized and low cost housing
finance and construction,” he said.
Trade Undersecretary Elmer C. Hernandez, who is
also the managing head of the BOI, said the country would need 2,754
projects at an average of 426 units each to construct 1.2 million
low cost housing units.
“These projects can avail of BOI
incentives,” he said.
Hernandez said that from 2006 to 2007, BOI
registered 97 mass housing projects with an equivalent capacity of
42,258 low cost housing units, representing 32 percent of the
133,183 units constructed for the period.
These projects created 23,373 jobs.
According to Hudcc data, completing a housing
unit requires 8.3 persons to work for three weeks or a total of 124
men a day.
Hudcc guidelines stated that a socialized house
would cost P300,000, while low-cost housing should be priced P3
million or below.
-- Katrina Mennen A. Valdez
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