Transfer of housing evaluation to central office may pose delays in projects

A SENATOR on Wednesday raised concerns over possible delays in housing completion following the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development’s (DHSUD) order to transfer evaluation and approval of projects from the regional office to the central office.

During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Urban Planning, Housing, and Resettlement, Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito warned that the DHSUD’s memorandum circular mandating the centralized evaluation of housing projects may hamper housing delivery.

“Because of this change, there’s a clear risk of bottlenecks and delays in project processing — delays that could further worsen the country’s existing housing backlog,” Mr. Ejercito said.

In his opening statement, Mr. Ejercito, author of the Republic Act. No. 11201, or the DHSUD Act, pointed out that the Philippines would need about 22 million housing by 2040, with 2.2 million backlogs in the present alongside 3.7 million informal settler families.

Carla Abegail B. Calleja, national president of the Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc., called for the suspension of the MC No. 2025-14 to restore the approval authority of regional offices.

She raised that the order has increased their processing time for licenses by 60 to 90 days.

“When all decisions are concentrated at one desk in one office in Metro Manila, large developers with resources and connections in the capital will always have an advantage,” Ms. Calleja said, also noting that small provincial developers cannot compete with those near the central office. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel