CLI to launch 11 projects worth P25 billion in second half

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) is preparing to bring 11 residential projects with more than 5,600 units and an estimated P25 billion in sales value to market in the second half, after regulatory requirements delayed several launches earlier this year.

The Cebu-based property developer said it used the first half to complete licensing and permitting requirements for projects planned across Cebu, Mactan, Ormoc, Butuan, Davao and Panglao.

The clarification comes after the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Regional Office 7 said some CLI projects had been issued Notices of Deficiency of Requirements for incomplete or non-compliant applications for licenses to sell.

In a statement, DHSUD-7 Regional Director Mark Anthony Lindugan said the deficiencies involved issues including building-permit classifications, the conversion of Temporary Licenses to Sell to regular licenses, pending documents and technical requirements requiring rectification or referral to local government units.

According to Lindugan regulators could not approve applications with deficiencies and rejected suggestions that regulatory delays were solely responsible for the postponed launches.

CLI, for its part, said the deferred launches were primarily linked to regulatory requirements it needed to address as DHSUD strengthens the licensing and permitting process for property developers.

The company said the requirements have since been addressed and that it is now positioned to proceed with its planned launches for the remainder of the year.

“We support DHSUD’s efforts to promote responsible development,” CLI President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Franco Soberano said, adding that the tighter requirements are intended to strengthen industry standards and ensure compliance.

The launch pipeline represents a significant recovery from the slowdown recorded in the first half.

Soberano had earlier disclosed that CLI deferred at least four project launches because licenses to sell remained pending, contributing to an 82 percent decline in project launches from a year earlier.

Soberano said it remains committed to working with DHSUD and other government agencies as it expands its project pipeline and participates in efforts to address the country’s housing backlog.

DHSUD said that since June, its central office and 17 regional offices have recorded zero overdue regulatory applications. Regional offices are required to act on applications within 15 days by either approving, denying or issuing a Notice of Deficiency, while applicants are given 90 days to comply with deficiencies.

For CLI, the resolution of the licensing requirements clears a regulatory hurdle ahead of a second-half rollout that the company expects to strengthen its project pipeline and sales opportunities across key markets in the Visayas and Mindanao.