CREBA, 5 industry groups pledge to GMA over half a million homes

The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations (CREBA), and four other private sector organizations of builders – Builders Alliance Towards Action, National Real Estate Association, Organization of Socialized Housing Developers, and Women in Shelter and Environment – led their respective members in pledging to deliver 305,305 socialized and economic housing units for President Arroyo’s program for homeless Filipinos in a bid to ease the housing shortage in the next few months.

Earlier, during the same Malacañang pledging session with the President, the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) committed 237,706 units by 2004. Thus, the commitments of CREBA with four other industry groups, and SHDA would account for a total of 543,011 housing units, even surpassing Mrs. Arroyo’s target in the President’s State of the Nation Addresses in 2001 and 2002 of providing 300,000 units within a decade.

CREBA national president Florentino S. Dulalia Jr. said the industry’s commitment fully supports President Arroyo’s "vow of pursuing the housing program to provide decent housing as a basic service to our homeless citizens."

On account of the pump-priming role of housing and urban development in business and industries, Dulalia said, "the housing and building industry contributes to the national economy in terms of livelihood and employment opportunities, thereby promoting economic growth all around."

In the joint 2002 National Convention of CREBA and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) in Baguio City last month, CREBA and the four other organizations which joined had pledged the deliver hundreds of thousands of housing units for the Housing program. The President, through a videotaped message and wide screen, cited housing program reforms to respond to the private industry’s requirements for substantive and procedural changes to enable the industry to actively pursue housing projects.

Instead of going to Baguio, she said, she did her homework by pencil-pushing with policy makers such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the HUDCC, Pag-IBIG Fund and the government housing sector. Interest rates for housing loans were reduced to make monthly amortizations more affordable. The Government Service Insurance System under its Bahay Ko Program is offering the lowest interest rates for housing to government employees.

On the same occasion, CREBA and the four organizations signed in the presence of President Arroyo a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) on the provision of equitable land access for housing and urban development.

Under the MOA, DAR agreed to make available at least 200,000 hectares of land for housing and urban development for the next 20 years.

Dulalia said that with this MOA, "it will now be possible to reduce by at least 50 percent the current shortage of housing units estimated to be five million, by the year 2010."

The industry, the CREBA head stressed, stands united in purpose, vision and conviction to respond affirmatively to the challenges of a viable housing program for homeless families and help achieve the overall goal of enhancing the quality of life of our people.