Government, house builders bare road map to solve shelter backlog by 2016

Published on Wednesday, 24 October 2012 20:15

Written by Max V. de Leon / Reporter

The government and private sector will implement a road map that will solve the country’s housing backlog estimated at 4.65 million units by the end of 2016.

The work plan, prepared through the initiative of the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA), calls for various support programs, including the grant of incentives and faster release of housing permits and licenses.

“Before the road map process, the industry was aware that a housing backlog exists but the extent was not very clear. Now that we have prepared the road map, we were able to probe the issues affecting the value chain of our sector and factors that could help it grow,” Paul Tanchi, SHDA president, said.

SHDA worked with 10 other industries in preparing the mass housing road map.

It was turned over to the Board of Investments (BOI) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) earlier this month.

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It identified issues such as delays in development permits at local government unit level, rising costs of utilities, brain drain, lack of funding for the poor, informal settlers and rising costs of land.

“Among the priority strategies identified by the group include ensuring the housing production momentum, which means making the processing of housing permits and licenses faster,” Tanchi said.

The road map called for the provision of steady financing schemes to make housing units affordable, as well as a comprehensive government housing assistance for targeted segments.

“We recognize the need for stronger collaboration among industry players, key shelter agencies, and the national government to address these gaps,” Tanchi said.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Adrian S. Cristobal has asked the various industries to prepare their respective road maps and committed to implement these through genuine collaboration between the government and the private sector.

“We are reviving industry policy through the industry development roadmaps project so we can all agree on visions, strategies, and deliberate actions for industries to create meaningful jobs in the country,” he said

He added that same shift to industry policy is also happening not just in the Philippines but also in Europe, South Asia and South America.

Based on the mass housing industry road map, a P1 increase in investment in the housing industry generates P3.32 additional output to the economy.

Also, a P100-million investment in construction is estimated to generate P47 million in additional household income which corresponds to 228 direct jobs created.

The industry road map initiative, launched by the DTI January this year, is the government’s strategic approach to policy development to ensure that trade and investment policies are consulted with stakeholders and international negotiating positions support the growth of key Philippine industries.

It is also meant to link the manufacturing sector with the rest of the economic sectors of the economy.