“The government must improve services to end the housing backlog.”

Officials with the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations (CRIBA) said the government must streamline its services if it wants to end the country’s housing backlog of 6.5 million by 2028.

While attending SMNI’s “Business and Politics” program hosted by the Chairman and CEO of The Manila Times, Dante “Clink” Ang II, Kripa Vice President for Academic Affairs Tikki Bautista, and Kriba Executive Vice President Melissa Chua, they emphasized the need for Accelerate the issuance of permits and licenses.

Chua said some local government units do not abide by the maximum number of days to process applications for building and development permits and permits.

Melissa Chua (left), Executive Vice President of the Real Estate Chamber and Building Society, and Tichy Bautista, Crippa Vice President for Academic Affairs, with “Business and Politics” host Dante “Clinic” Ang II. Photo by John Orvin Verdot

“I hope (the LGUs) will follow the timetable because for developers, the most important thing is time; time is money. So permitting and converting land really takes a lot of time,” she said, in both English and Filipino. .

“The most important thing is to speed up the development process or speed up the construction process so that we can collect and deliver to buyers,” said Chua, who is also the president and CEO of CDC Holdings Inc.

Under Republic Act 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business Act, LGUs have only 45 business days to process an application or application for a license, clearance permit, certification or authorization.

Chua said the Philippines should “adapt and transform into a digital economy,” because it is the “easiest way” to simplify business transactions.

“All foreign investors will also be willing to come because it’s very easy; you can just see it online, and that’s the solution,” she said.

Bautista agrees that land developers consider long processing times for permits and permits a sign of “inefficient” government services that can result in higher costs for end users.

“The delay and the inefficiency really cost a lot, and it’s what the buyers bear. That’s the tragedy there,” said Bautista, who also heads Crippa’s jubilee fair.

“There is a real need for the government to be more transparent because how can we help them solve the housing problem if they are not transparent? Then they have to be efficient and provide us with what is needed, without delay,” she added. He said.

In September 2022, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) said that the government plans to build 6 million homes during the current administration, which will benefit about 30 million Filipinos.

DHSUD data revealed that there are about 3.7 million informal settled families in the country. At least 500,000 of them live in the slums, railways, waterways, and steros of Metro Manila.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 34 this year, declaring the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program to be the flagship program of the government.

“I still hope, and we at Kripa feel that there is still hope to meet and meet needs such as 6 million housing (units),” Chua said, as she expressed the organization’s support for 4PH to the President by handing over 500,000 units annually.

But she emphasized that the government should also provide land and financing to support private sector housing initiatives. “Let’s be very efficient and transparent; tell us the land use in the area so the developers can start dealing with the land,” Bautista added.