Cebu developers worry over difficulties in securing permits

CEBU’S real estate boom has been evident over the past years, with development projects being seen left and right.

But now, some developers are saying that they are facing some concerns over their developments especially in terms of government regulations and policies.

Among these concerns is the difficulty in getting permits from the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, according to lawyer Larri-Nil Veloso, the vice president for legal of Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI).

“It’s difficult to do business in the real estate industry. We felt some difficulty in getting permits from the HLURB. We don’t blame the tightening of regulations. But you might want to reconsider,” he said during the regional business meeting of the Organization of Socialized and Economic Housing Developers of the Philippines (OSHDP) at Marco Polo Hotel on Tuesday afternoon where an HLURB official was among the speakers.

For one, Veloso said developers are being required to have a temporary license to sell (TLS) on top of getting a building permit for their projects.

A TLS is issued by HLURB to property developers to allow them to conduct marketing activities to test the market viability of their project. But this is only valid for six months. Instead of a TLS, Veloso said the HLURB should immediately grant developers a permanent license to sell (LTS) for projects that already have building permits.

Building permit woes

To add to this, Veloso pointed out the new policy of Cebu City Hall imposing a moratorium on the construction of high-rise buildings within the city as another problem developers are now facing.

“Now, its difficult to get a building permit. Cebu City has imposed a moratorium on high-rise buildings. The industry is being constricted now. The mayor’s office was quoted in the news saying that only two development permits were released from January to February this year,” Veloso said during the open forum of OSHDP’s business meeting.

On the other hand, developers are also required to get a development permit from local government units (LGUs) first before they are able to apply for a verified survey return (VSR) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

But Veloso said getting a development permit takes a lot of time. He cited as an example the projects they have in Naga City and San Fernando town, which took two years before they were granted development permits, and one year for a different project in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental.

The VSR, he said, is only a technical description of the subdivision of the property that is already approved by LGUs.

“Maybe we can relax a bit? As a compromise, you can just require us to submit a proof of filing with the DENR,” Veloso told HLURB CEO and Commissioner Lloyd Christopher Lao who was one of the speakers.

“The real estate industry has been the driver of employment and local economy. Business will sprout, water refilling stations, 7-Eleven stores, and others where there are new properties. I hope we can come up with something,” he added.

Veloso also pointed out that his company CLI, which has completed more than 50 projects, has developed a reputation of not leaving projects so government agencies should not make it so hard on them.

But Lao explained that there is still a need for all these stringent requirements in order for government to regulate the real estate industry.

“I hope you understand, local agencies and the HLURB are in charge of regulation. Whatever is in the law, we will implement it. If you ask us to relax and something happens, the HLURB will be blamed. If you sell (units) and don’t deliver, we will be blamed,” he said.

Lao further said that like any drivers of economy, the real estate boom could also cause recession if the economy moves too fast.

As a compromise, Lao said they plan to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the DENR to act on applications for VSR within 30 days or else it is considered granted.

Temporary

Meanwhile, Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez, executive assistant of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, explained that the city’s moratorium against high-rise constructions is only temporary.

He said this is because the city government became worried about the incidents of fires in a mall in Davao as well as the recent fire that hit the Metro Ayala department store.

“We are asking for explanations. If these people violated regulations, no problem. It’s just a matter of enforcing. But if they complied and these things still happened, there’s something wrong with our regulations. What’s the problem? We’d like to understand that,” he said.

He said the city government will host a conference in Cebu City on February 28 to discuss building regulations.

Fernandez said they have invited experts from different parts of the country to talk about these regulations with the goal of preventing the disasters that happened to other properties in Cebu and in other parts of the country.