SHDA bats for DHUD bill

As Congress finalize a bill creating the Department of Housing and Urban Development (DHUD), the country’s property giants are pushing for provisions in the proposed law that shall attract developers to build more houses.

The Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA), the leading association of private developers, is specifically batting for a speedy licensing of mass housing projects and maximizing the use of the Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUP) crafted by local government units.

In a position paper submitted to the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement, chaired by Senator Francis Pangilinan, SHDA proposed the CLUPs of LGUs be used as the main basis to determine the location of housing projects.

Said SHDA Advisor and twice SHDA national president Jose de Guzman, "A CLUP, if properly prepared, updated and implemented, is taken seriously, it will more then adequately serve as the key to solving the disputes and issues involving the zoning, classification and conversion of land to residential purposes."

For his part, SHDA chairman Teofisto Guingona III said "the preparation and updating of CLUPs, to be really meaningful, should involve from the beginning the active participation of national government agencies such as DAR, DA, DENR, the local government, and other affected agencies, including representatives from the developers like SHDA, people’s organizations and non-government organization (POs/NGOs), and the community at large, through a multi-sectoral, inter-agency committee composed of private sector and government representative vested with the adequate authority to decide in behalf of their respective organization, agencies and constituents."

SHDA president Jesus Atencio said "inconsistent provisions in existing laws and conflicting interpretations of mandates by various agencies of government continue to retard the implementation of a massive housing production program, resulting in the long processing of housing permits that stalemate our desire to produce more housing units." He added that, even some DAR officials have admitted that their approval of Conversion Applications is discretionary on their part.

That is why, de Guzman argued "SHDA advocates that when a CLUP is approved by the inter-agency committee, it shall have an effect on an LGU-wide reclassification of land-use and limited conversion to residential uses that will no longer require any further case-to-case processing and issuance of land conversion from DAR or the DA, or environmental clearance from DENR."

However, SHDA cleared any housing proposals that fall outside the residential zone of the CLUP must go through the comprehensive process of DAR land conversion and DENR environmental clearance. Said Guingona, "This provides the proper check and balance for developers who would insist on converting what was already agreed upon and classified as agricultural lands under the CLUP."