The Chamber of Real Estate & Builders Associations Inc. (CREBA) is seeking the support of the members of the 20th Congress in passing priority legislative and reform proposals that it said will sustain economic growth while addressing the country’s 6.5 million housing backlog.
Citing the urgency of advancing policies that deliver real, measurable impact, CREBA President Noel Cariño said in a statement on Wednesday that the group’s priority legislative proposals are aimed at resolving the nation’s nagging housing shortfall, streamlining property development, and improving the overall investment climate in real estate to more effectively respond to the large-scale goals of the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program launched in 2022.
One of the group’s proposals is the amendment of the balanced housing provisions of Republic Act 7279 to encourage greater private sector participation in the delivery of socialized and economic housing units, CREBA said.
CREBA said it is also seeking changes to Republic Act 6552 or the Maceda Law to promote equitable consideration of developers and buyers’ welfare in cases of defaulted home purchases.
CREBA said it has also forwarded several proposals towards a balanced and equitable National Land Use Act (NLUA) to provide a clear, long-term framework for rational use of land and natural resources while ensuring optimum growth of all sectors while promoting food security, environmental preservation, infrastructure and human settlements.
“While the bill has been, time and again, certified as an urgent measure, several versions of the NLUA bills have continued to languish in the legislative mills for close to thirty years for lack of consensus among conflicting sectors,” CREBA said.
CREBA also reiterated its call to pass what it said is a “ long-overdue” legislation of a Comprehensive Home Financing Program to expand access to long-term, affordable housing credit for low and middle-income families.
The group said there is a need to either amend or beef up existing laws on property registration, taxation, fiscal incentives, and rental housing.
“We are ready to work with our lawmakers toward a future where every Filipino has a place to call home—and where housing becomes the cornerstone of a stronger, more resilient economy,” CREBA said.
In the lead-up to its national convention slated in Baguio City from October 15 to 17 of this year in time for the National Shelter Month, CREBA said it will engage government leaders, experts and key stakeholders to present solutions and rally behind a policy agenda that puts housing at the center of national development
