InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines - SM Development Corp. and socialized housing advocate Gawad Kalinga have sealed a memorandum of agreement covering the donation by SMDC of a 3.84-hectare lot.
The donation counts as part of the SMDC's compliance with the 20-percent socialized housing requirement of the Board of Investments (BOI) on registered housing projects.
This is the first MOA entered into by Gawad Kalinga in relation to its accreditation as a participating institution with the BOI.
Gawad Kalinga is authorized, as an accredited institution, to receive contributions from registered vertical housing developers.
Such contributions may be in cash or kind (land and construction materials or components) and construction of socialized housing units and/or educational facilities.
The SMDC property up for donation is in Paliparan, Dasmarinas, Cavite. When fully developed, it can host more than 200 families. It will include a road network system, drainage system and complete water distribution system.
SMDC plans as well to give cash to build 24 homes and a kindergarten school.
The BOI said innovative and highly-density housing strategies are needed to effectively address the housing gap.
BOI Governor Geronimo Sta. Ana described the GK way as “an innovative approach and is potentially an effective, sustainable, and replicable model that would help address the problem of urban housing in the country.”
All vertical housing projects registered with the BOI are required under the 2010 and 2011 Investments Priority Plan (IPP) to develop an area for socialized housing, in line with BOI’s thrust of helping to address the housing and classroom backlog. The gap is estimated to reach about 5.8 million units in 2016; and classroom shortage, at 66,800 units.
Contributions of vertical housing developers in this program could reach P2 billion, which could translate to around 15,000 socialized housing units or 3,000 classrooms.
