The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association, the country’s largest group of property developers and builders, is pushing for the government to reconsider its proposal to remove mass housing from the government’ latest Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), according to a news article published in Philstar.
According to CREBA president Charlie A. V. Gorayeb, the Department of Finance’s proposal to remove mass housing from the IPP is against the provisions of the Omnibus Investment Code of 1987 and the national housing program.
Inclusion in the IPP qualifies an investor, such as property developers and builders, for tax incentives, tax holidays, tax credits, and other non-fiscal incentives. In a paper submitted by the finance department to the Department of Trade and Industry, continued inclusion of investment sectors such as mass housing, shipbuilding, and iron, steel, and motor vehicle manufacturing to the 2013 IPP poses an “administrative nightmare” to the tax bureau.
According to Gorayeb, the incentives provided by the IPP to private investors allow property developers to keep the prices of their mass housing projects within the reach of average Filipinos. He added that mass housing projects have been listed every year in the IPP for over a decade now to bridge the housing gap and provide affordable homes for Filipinos. In addition, delisting will negatively affect other industries involved in homebuilding, such as steel and cement manufacturers and other local suppliers, said Gorayeb.
In a letter sent by CREBA to the Board of Investment (BOI), the developer association aired its opposition to the finance department’s paper, stressing that mass housing projects also generate thousands of jobs, which contribute to the local economies and reduce the problem of unemployment.
Mass housing is included in the 1987 Omnibus Investment Code as a priority investment sector. In 2007, the BOI expanded its coverage to include vertical housing or condominium projects.
