Phinma investing P400 million for first 2 community housing projects

MANILA, Philippines — Phinma Corp., the diversified conglomerate of the Del Rosario Group, is making a big push to address the underserved socialized housing sector in the country by investing at least P400 million to roll out its first two community housing projects.

Phinma Community Housing Corp. president Luis Oquinena told The STAR that the company would start construction and development of its community housing project in Davao by October, while a similar project in Bacolod is eyed for launch by the first or second quarter of 2026.

He said the Davao project would have at least 500 units, while the Bacolod project would have 600 to 700 units.

Each project will require an investment of around P200 million and will take a year to develop, according to Oquinena.

The community housing projects are targeted for low-income wage earners, with house and lots priced at about P850,000.

“The whole idea is to propose a product for that underserved segment. We want a place that they can call their home. In fact the aspiration is to transition them from rental to ownership. The challenge of Mr. Ramon del Rosario is to really make it affordable for the low income,” Oquinena said.

Del Rosario, chairman and CEO of Phinma Corp., earlier said he has instructed the group’s property arm to do in housing what the group is doing in the education sector by “building decent homes and wholesome communities that are accessible to the underserved sector who need and deserve these homes the most.”

“We call it community housing because we want to reframe the housing solution to make it more holistic for the family.  So instead of amenities like a swimming pool or whatever, we want to put in like a day care, we want to put in a skills training center because we we want to fit the lifestyle since it’s going to be a workers’ village,” Oquinena said.

“So we want to make sure that the features of the community really can help the residents. That’s why we call it community housing,” he said.

Reinforcing the group’s commitment to addressing the nation’s significant housing backlog, Phinma Properties is spinning off its community housing arm into its own unit.

Last March, Phinma’s board approved the investment of P250 million in Phinma Community Housing for its initial capital expenditure requirements, purchase of land and working capital requirements.

The Phinma Group sees significant opportunities in its newly organized Phinma Community Housing as the vehicle for its renewed thrust in the underserved socialized housing sector.