THREE real estate developers have pledged to build four medium-rise buildings (MRBs) to support the Cebu City Government’s socialized housing program.
Cebu City Public Information Officer Cerwin Eviota said Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama talked to the owners of DMCI Homes Inc., Arthaland Century Pacific Corp. (ACPC) and Deca Homes during their investment marketing in September in Manila.
Eviota said DMCI Homes, led by its chairman Isidro Consunji, has an upcoming development project in Banawa, Barangay Guadalupe and Barangay Lahug, but it has already committed to build two MRBs for Cebu City.
ACPC and Deca Homes will build one MRB each.
“Even if wala pa sila kasugod, gi-commit na nila daan ang socialized housing component (Even if they have not started yet, they have already committed to the socialized housing component). So it is not just one, it can be two MRBs, one for each development,” said Eviota.
The four MRBs will be built to accommodate Cebuanos affected by the City’s clearing of structures from the three-meter easement along rivers and waterfronts.
Eviota said the three investors expressed support for Rama’s “Singapore-like” vision for Cebu City.
He added that Arthaland, through its executive vice president Christopher Narciso, offered to design one of the townships for MRBs in Cebu City.
Arthaland also volunteered to repair the Don Vicente Rama Memorial School in Barangay Basak San Nicolas that was damaged by Typhoon Odette (Rai) in December 2021. The company pledged to shoulder even the installation of solar panels that will supply electricity to the school. It targets to finish the repair before the year ends.
Luis Yu, president of Deca Homes, for his part, committed to donate not just one MRB for Cebu City but also two condominium units in Barangay Tisa as prizes for the next vaccination incentive program of the City called PabakunaTa Extravaganza.
The program aims to encourage more people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
In June 2022, developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. turned over to the City Government two five-story MRBs located in Barangay Lorega-San Miguel.
Rama said earlier that he would invoke the Balanced Housing Development Program under Republic Act 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, which states that developers of proposed subdivision projects are required to “develop an area for socialized housing equivalent to at least 20 percent of the total subdivision area or total subdivision project cost, at the option of the developer, within the same city or municipality, whenever feasible.”
Through Republic Act 10884, RA 7279 was amended in 2016 to include the residential condominium projects in complying with the balanced housing requirement. The same law reduced the investment requirement to 15 percent from 20 percent of development cost.
Under RA 10884, “owners and/or developers of proposed subdivision and condominium projects shall be required to develop an area for socialized housing equivalent to at least 15 percent of the total subdivision area or total subdivision project cost and at least five percent of the condominium area or project cost.”
This may be complied with through any of these three methods: development of socialized housing in a new settlement, joint venture projects for socialized housing with either the local government units or other entities, or participation in a new project under the community mortgage program. (PAC, LMY)