MANILA, Philippines - One of the strategies enunciated by the new administration is closer collaboration between the national government and the private sector, and between the national government and local government units (LGUs). The Housing and Urban Development Coordination Council (HUDCC) led by Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has thus initiated steps to build a stronger and more cost-effective partnership between the private sector and government, and between HUDCC and the LGUs. In meetings with Chambers of Commerce in some key cities, the Vice President and HUDCC Chairman stressed the need to develop an investment-friendly business climate, particularly in housing. He emphasized the need for the private sector to create goods and services for the economy while the government provides the best possible environment for the private investments to flourish. A specific challenge was for private investors to assist in filling up the backlog in socializing housing where poor homebuyers can buy with their services and the government can pay developers with tax incentives.
The Vice President also pushed for strengthened lending to and collection from the middle class, especially Overseas Filipino Workers. By keeping the money circulating in the home lending system, more people can borrow, buy, and amortize houses, he said. The Vice President directed the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-Ibig) to create a special lending window for local government units to bring down housing development costs. The Urban Development Coordination Council believes that with the power of local government units to tap idle lands for the development of housing projects, the development costs of building new units will be significantly reduced. The HUDCC stressed the need to ensure that low-cost housing will not only be affordable to the masses but will also be made of quality materials.
