Speech of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay during the 22nd Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) National Developers Convention and General Membership Meeting, Fairmont Hotel, 1 Raffles Drive, Makati Avenue, Makati City, 26 September 2013, 10 am It is always a great honor for me to be invited to speak before the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association. SHDA is a very important partner of HUDCC and key shelter agencies for achieving our goals and targets. We have started three years ago with ambitious targets and we have so far achieved good success. The efforts of HUDCC and the key shelter agencies have been anchored on this commitment we have as a team: “We will work together to reduce the housing gap, give priority to the problem of the homeless poor, and incentivize the private sector and the local government units to lead in the production of more housing units.” We have been innovative in attaining our goals for the housing sector. “Gaganda ang buhay sa sariling bahay” was our slogan, with the thrust not only to reduce the housing gap, but to create better and sustainable communities. For the period July 2010 to June 2013, the housing sector has provided secure tenure to more than 354,000 families valued at P133 billion under the different housing programs of NHA, SHFC and HDMF. About 60,000 housing units more were constructed through loans or mortgages originated by commercial banks and other institutions valued at P94.6 billion and enrolled under the guaranty program of the Home Guaranty Corporation. On the other hand, the NHMFC has been able to mobilize more funds by securitizing 8,349 housing accounts valued at P1.64 billion. Further, they were able to assist developers like you liquefy their portfolios by purchasing your receivables. With all these efforts put together, more housing units have been and are being constructed as evidenced by the increasing number of licenses to sell issued by HLURB for residential and condominium units of real estate developers. Clearly, we could have done more but there are realities to contend with which forced us to make downward adjustments on our targets. First, the Globe Asiatique fiasco that rendered about P7 billion housing fund locked in legal issues necessitated the institution by Pag-Ibig of safeguards to protect the Fund from similar incidents. It took a while to restore the confidence of the stakeholders in the system of rolling out funds to the housing industry. But now, our policies and programs are in place and we have placed Pag-Ibig Fund on track. Second, we refocused our resettlement program on the P50 billion housing scheme for informal settlers in danger areas in Metro Manila. This required a different approach, such as in-city housing, where we face new challenges, particularly land availability. We have yet to overcome the difficulty of acquiring affordable land for relocation but I have challenged the National Housing Authority and the Social Housing Finance Corporation to come up with more innovative approaches to solve this issue.
Third, the Community Mortgage Program had to adjust their targets because of changes in operational procedures in processing loans and the introduction of new products. Fourth, our housing programs with local governments as partners have been hampered primarily by the lack of available land titled to the LGUs. Fifth, the lack of resources constrained some of our programs, such as the Housing Loan Receivables Purchase Program of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation that also affected their securitization program. Sixth, the private sector was holding back due to problems particularly with titling and availment of incentives. We are also aware that the policy changes that we made, such as the revision of guidelines in the compliance with the balanced housing requirement, somehow necessitated adjustments on how you, the private developers, were doing things. We are confident, however, that these new guidelines would spur the development of more socialized housing projects that would serve the low-income sector of our society. After three years, we have a better understanding of the realities on the ground. It is time to move on, conquer these realities and meet the challenge of achieving the new targets. It is heartening to know that we are not alone in this goal to improve the quality of life of more Filipino families. SHDA has been and continues to be our constant, dynamic, and supportive partner. The housing industry roadmap that your association initiated has been a much welcome input that provided a clearer picture of the vision of the housing sector and the way to get there. Our focus now is on determining the best and practical level of performance target that the key shelter agencies can attain in the next three years, in coordination with the private sector. In the recent KSA-wide strategic planning that we conducted, we discussed the policies, programs and operational reforms that need to be done to ensure that we deliver our commitment. Our primary considerations are the impact and relevance of our effort in helping our clients, especially the poor, secure their houses; and good governance in leading the agencies that we serve. The targets we have set are achievable but we do recognize the need for solid partnerships to ensure the efficient and timely accomplishment of what we aim for. We value the developers’ contribution and support. We need to work hand in hand especially in continuously producing quality decent units, developing new technologies that will drive down the cost, and fast tracking construction.
Along this line, the government will continue to step up and work doubly hard to: 1.
Expand our partnership with various sectors;
2. Come up with acceptable housing packages that will address the need of our various clients, including the government employees who have also been clamoring for an affordable housing program. We will be innovative and not be constrained by existing systems and policies. 3. Help identify more land for housing through the Comprehensive Land Use Plan or CLUP. For our developer partners, we will continue to extend support through the following: 1. Ensure sustainable funding for the development of housing units through Pag-Ibig take-outs. Since 2010, we have provided P2.5 billion to SHDA members translating into about 3,400 units. Through our partnership, we hope to raise this level; 2. Open the remaining fund under the Abot-Kaya Developmental Financing for Projects for Informal Settlers; 3. Liquefy more developers through the Housing Loans Receivable Purchase Program (HLRPP); 4. Enroll more accounts under our guaranty programs. From 2010 to July 2013, we have approved 18 guaranty lines for bond/standard coverage ranging from P200 million to P10 billion. To date, there are 87 developers with financing arrangement from HGC guaranteed banks. 5. Pursue the review and harmonization of BP 220 Design and Standards, Building Code and Fire Code in coordination with SHDA and other developer associations; 6. Coordinate with the board of investments to harmonize the rules and guidelines on socialized housing compliance under section 18 of the Urban Development And Housing Act and availment of tax incentives or holidays; 7. Assist you in securing the fiscal incentives that you are entitled to receive visĂ -vis your housing investments. We will continuously improve our services to make it easier and faster for investors to do business with us. This includes establishing better relations with other agencies such as BIR and LRA; 8. Standardize processes and forms which cover mortgage documentation, appraisal reports, monitoring reports, accreditation systems, and rating system for borrowers, among others; and
9. Finally, raise to the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council your proposal for the upward adjustment of loan ceilings for horizontal housing development. Hand in hand with these initiatives, we are calling on SHDA to help us in our aim to provide housing to more Filipinos, especially those in need. I am seeking your support and assistance particularly in our initiative to deliver housing to our fellow citizens affected by natural or man-made calamities. The recent conflict in Zamboanga City alone, for instance, has rendered some 15,000 families homeless. In line with this and given the limited resources that we have, we need to work together with the private sector to rebuild their homes. We are looking at the possibility of channeling your compliance projects to this area, where it is presently most needed and which will create a huge impact. I have instructed CEO and Commissioner Tony Bernardo to discuss this with you and come up with a partnership project between the government and the private developers for this purpose. We also need to work closer in pushing for legislative measures that will support the housing sector. We have less than three years in our respective positions to work on these targets and projects. I am confident that with a strong partnership with SHDA, we will not fail in fulfilling our dreams. I enjoin all of you to work with us. Let us all contribute our best to leave a lasting legacy to the institutions and the people we are serving in the housing sector. Thank you and good morning.