| Written by Manuel T. Cayon / Reporter |
| Wednesday, 11 November 2009 18:36 |
| DAVAO CITY—The four countries of the East Asean Growth Area (Eaga) want the Philippine government to waive or lower tax on renting properties or putting up big-ticket investments in Mindanao and Palawan, in a fresh indication of their continued interest in these places as preferred investment site in this part of the subregion of the Asean. The request for property-related incentives was conveyed at the recent summit of heads of state and senior officials in Thailand, where representatives of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines BIMP, comprising the BIMP-Eaga, were in attendance. Secretary Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser on Mindanao affairs, told reporters here that Malaysia has requested the Philippines “to waive real-estate taxes, especially with the decision of one of its business groups to revive operation of the Samal Casino Resort Hotel [in the Island Garden City of Samal].” On the part of the Philippines, the local governments in Mindanao may likely consider it. “But the national taxation is not decided on it yet, because of the concern that waiving it may open the floodgate for other countries.” “It would be a policy issue to be studied carefully,” Dureza said. The Malaysian Ekran Berhad Services, operator of several hotels and resorts in Malaysia, announced in August this year, also during a senior officials’ meeting in Brunei, that it was reopening the P1.5-billion casino and resort. The company also told Philippine officials and local government officials that it planned “to work on mounting flights between Davao and Kota Kinabalu, in partnership with Malaysian Airlines, to coincide with the reopening of the resort.” Ekran Berhad has opened only 245 rooms in 1998, from a planned 1,400-room resort, before it closed in 2001 due to the Asian financial crisis. The resort and hotel sprawls on an area of 250 hectares and includes space for a planned golf course. Malaysian airlines folded its Davao flight also in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. The request to waive Philippine local real-estate tax was one of the highlights of the October 25 leaders’ summit, which also included the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between BIMP-Eaga and China, one of the three northeastern Asian countries admitted as observers to Asean’s subregional group. The others are South Korea and Japan. Other commitments include a more aggressive push on BIMP’s ecotourism sector, but with special caution to “protect, conserve and sustainably manage [its] rich marine and terrestrial resources, such as the Heart of Borneo and Coral Triangle initiatives.” Alongside ecotourism, the BIMP also vowed to implement more initiatives to develop the former backwater regions of the four countries into a food basket of the Asean and the rest of Asia. But it also promised to resolve existing bottlenecks, especially in uniform customs, immigration, quarantine and security issues, to energize the food-basket goal and other objectives of the BIMP-Eaga. |
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
BIMP-Eaga countries want RP to waive or lower real-estate taxes
From selling plans to selling a family experience
| Written by Rizal Raoul Reyes / Correspondent |
| Wednesday, 25 November 2009 18:25 |
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She was so busy that she barely realized that the gardening pursued by husband Reynaldo had gradually developed; later, they would all become addicted to it. The mother of two recalls the family buying lots in the provinces whenever they had the opportunity to pursue gardening. Mortel used her earnings from her commissions to buy the lots. The Mortel couple converted these lots into their weekend hideaways for family and friends until they saw, one day, an opportunity during a summer break. “We noticed that a resort located near our property experienced an overflow of visitors which forced some of them to travel farther to be accommodated,” says Mortel. “The following year we decided to open our first Yellow Coco branch in Agoncillo, Batangas in 1991,” says Mortel. Mortel admits there’s a big difference in selling insurance and managing Yellow Coco. In selling insurance, Mortel says an agent must be both persuasive and gentle with a prospective client so he will not be turned off,” says Mortel. As far as Yellow Coco is concerned, it requires a different skill, according to Mortel. “I think going with the flow is my answer to the question on how I run Yellow Coco,” says Mortel. During the construction of Yellow Coco, Mortel recalls she did not know anything about construction, but was able to absorb a lot of essential lessons during the construction period. “You will learn the things as you go along,” says Mortel. At present, Mortel plans to conduct an advertising and marketing campaign to make Yellow Coco a household name in the resort business. “It will not be a full-scale marketing campaign comparable to the bigger players,” says Mortel. Mortel says Yellow Coco in Batangas gives guests a provincial experience while they’re relaxing in hammocks shaded by lush molave trees. On summer days, swimmers can savor the clean and serene waters in the lake. This background also serves as a good time for bonding with friends and family. Meanwhile, Yellow Coco in Tagaytay City, which opened in 1994, offers guests an opportunity to commune with nature through the lush flora—even as guests get Wi-Fi connectivity to allow for mobile computing. What used to be a weekend retreat house for family and friends was opened to the public in 2005. The 1,600-square meter property in Tagaytay is the more popular place among the two. With customers enjoying their stay, Mortel says the structures and overall ambiance motivate them to go back. Although their resort business is not on a par with the bigger names in the business, the soft-spoken Mortel is not worried because Yellow Coco is financially liquid. “Monetary-wise, there’s no problem because the company has no debts to settle, unlike the other resorts which have to settle their loans to finance the construction of their facilities,” says Mortel Being a small business entity, Mortel adopted multitasking among the staff of the two resorts to make operations more efficient. For example, the caretaker is also the cook of the resort. The Manila office handles all the bookings and reservations. Afterwards, all reservations are coursed through the office in Manila. |
OFW investments in condotels seen rising with steady remittances
| Wednesday, 02 December 2009 18:49 |
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“We have attracted a significant number of expatriate Filipino workers to invest in La Breza Tower,” says Ma. Carmina Sotto, executive vice president for sales, marketing and training of Royale Homes Marketing Corp., the exclusive marketing arm of the project. “There has been a move in the way OFW remittances are spent, shifting from consumer goods to property investments—and they recognize La Breza Tower as an excellent investment for many reasons,” Sotto adds. As a condotel, La Breza Tower units can be leased out on a timeshare basis, giving owners a steady source of income. This means that OFWs’ investment will never be idle, since their unit will be earning them money in case they opt not to occupy it and still stay abroad for the time being. OFWs can expect a higher yield with their La Breza Tower unit compared with regular savings or time-deposit accounts in banks, with an annual return of investment of up to 8 percent. Furthermore, the value of the La Breza Tower unit itself will rapidly appreciate because of its prime and strategic setting. Located on Mother Ignacia Street in Quezon City, the 22-story development is close to commercial establishments, such as the TriNoma Mall and SM City North Edsa, as well as the much-frequented restaurants and café’s of Tomas Morato and Timog Avenue. La Breza Tower’s topnotch amenities also contribute to its strength as an exceptional investment. A swimming pool, a gym and a business center are available for condotel unit owners to enjoy. La Breza Tower is developed by Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (SLLI). With more than three decades of solid experience in real estate and 200 developed projects, SLLI has built an impressive roster of residential estates, commercial developments, golf and country clubs, resort and beach clubs, condominiums and other projects. Among the recognition it has received for its record are the Developer of the Year, conferred by the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations and the Most Trusted Property Developer from Reader’s Digest Asia. “With its wealth of features that make it a first-rate investment, it’s not a surprise that high-earning Filipinos abroad such as nurses, engineers and information technology-professionals have invested in La Breza Tower,” said Sotto. “We expect more units to be sold before the year ends, as OFW remittances will be peaking starting this period until the Christmas season. |
WITH the latest report of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showing cumulative remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) having reached $12 billion from January to September, interest among OFWs for more secure investments in real estate is growing. This trend may be observed in, for instance, the La Breza Tower, the first condotel in Quezon City.Osmeña: Government service to realty
Antonio v. Osmeña
Estatements
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia are on the right track in the management of their respective local governments’ real estate properties. It is indeed unfortunate that traditional politics has created a win-lose or in most probability a lose-lose situation affecting billions of pesos in government assets.
Serging Osmeña’s 160-hectare North Reclamation Project, planned to be “a city within a city”, suffered a lose-lose situation because of the political interference of then president Ferdinand Marcos in the early 1970s. Let us then be reminded that departments and agencies of the national and local governments are supposed to be concerned with taxation, purchases, sale, management, regulation, financing and stimulation of the economic use of real estate.
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One of the oldest government service branches in real estate is the real property taxation branch. It takes charge of the administration of real property tax laws, like valuing real estate for tax purposes (assessing) and collecting real estate taxes.
The second government service branch has to do with the acquisition, sale, management and leasing of government property. Government has always bought or acquired by condemnation, sold, leased, managed or operated property.
The third government service branch of real estate is charged with administering laws that regulate land use and that govern the kind, quality of construction, and safety of buildings.
The regulation of land use is accomplished by means of planning and zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, and through housing agencies. Building, fire, sanitary, tenement housing, multiple dwellings and housing laws and regulations enforce healthful, safe conditions.
The fourth government service branch of real estate has to do with the financing of real estate. Although government agencies are not mortgage lenders in the strict usage of the term, they can subsidize low-rental housing construction and operation, and can pledge government credit by directly or indirectly guaranteeing certain real estate real estate loans—directly under the Home Guaranty Corp.
The fifth branch of government service in real estate is concerned with government activities that encourage, stimulate, or regulate the economic use of real estate. Laws and ordinances have been enacted and government agencies and departments have been set up for this purpose. The government has created departments of commerce, industry and economic development which, among other things, encourage and stimulate the economic use of land and the development and preservation of natural resources.
The political feud between Mayor Osmeña and Governor Garcia over the provincial lots located in the City of Cebu is basically due to the presence of informal settlers.
These informal settlers undoubtedly settled without definite legal agreements made with the owner of the lot (government or private), which would have been binding on the informal settlers. There was definitely a lack of political will to perform a government service of managing properties and, likewise, on the private lots, the negligence of private property administrators caused informal settlers to squat on the land. The informal settlers, for political reasons, have organized as the urban poor, including professional informal settlers—people who squat to sell the area for a profit.
These professional squatters, as they should be legitimately called, are quite enterprising in pinpointing vacant and unattended lots along riverbanks, sidewalks, abandoned road lots, foreshore areas, government-declared timberlands and watersheds.
When will our local government officials have the political will to execute the land use laws and ordinances? The rapid urbanization of Cebu’s cities and towns demands for those who are supposed to administer government services in real estate to do their job well. They need to coordinate with the elected officials for the execution of land use laws. Since 1946, our local elected government officials have continuously failed to remove and stop illegal squatting along riverbanks, sidewalks and public access areas.
Invest in agribusiness, DA urges
RISING demand for agricultural commodities in Central Visayas creates opportunities for agribusiness investments in the region, a government official said.
“The need for agricultural commodities is perennial. So we encourage poultry or swine-raising (and other agribusinesses),” said Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 agribusiness and marketing assistance division chief Christopher Lucero.
He pointed out that Central Visayas depends on other regions for commodities like vegetables and pork.
“Cebu alone, being a catchment area in Region 7, posted a high demand for agricultural products. We rely on Iloilo for more pork supply and on Cagayan de Oro or Bukidnon for about 50 percent of our vegetable supply,” Lucero said, adding that the demand comes from both household consumers and food processing firms.
He also pointed out the “burgeoning market” for organic products in Cebu, but there is no organically certified farm in the province yet—although there are producers who practice organic farming and, at the same time, pest management, so not all of their products are organic.
“We need to promote organic farming to ensure sustainable agriculture and best environment practices,” Lucero said.
The Department of Agriculture is also planning to get both public and private investments for raw materials needed by the region’s export sectors, including exporters of gifts, toys and houseware, fashion accessories, and furniture.
DA 7 is also endorsing agribusiness opportunities for public investments in Bohol and Oriental Negros.
“For Bohol, (farmers) see the need for trucking services for the province’s flourishing oil palm industry. For Oriental Negros where there are a lot of livestock and poultry products, there is a need to put up a common service facility that would prolong the shelf life of dairy products,” said Lucero. He advised local government units in southern Cebu to take advantage of trading routes, including links to Dumaguete, Oriental Negros and Tagbilaran, Bohol.