Manila: The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) has issued a directive to private real estate developers, mandating strict adherence to the Balanced Housing Development Program (BHDP) as outlined in Republic Act 10884. The directive comes in response to findings that approximately 600 private development projects have failed to meet the law's balanced housing requirements in the past four years.

According to Philippines News Agency, the directive by DHSUD emerged during the agency's ongoing Zero Backlog Program. This initiative reviews pending and existing projects across regional offices, uncovering alleged violations. DHSUD Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling emphasized the department's commitment to rectifying these violations promptly to enhance the production of socialized housing for underprivileged Filipinos.

Republic Act 10884, an amendment to the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992 (RA 7279), requires developers of new residential subdivisions and condominium projects to provide socialized housing. The requirement is set at a minimum of 15 percent for subdivisions and 5 percent for condominiums. Compliance options include onsite construction, new socialized housing settlements, joint ventures, or contributions to the socialized housing fund under an incentivized compliance scheme.

The law also specifies penalties for non-compliance, including fines up to PHP500,000 for a first offense and the issuance of cease-and-desist orders (CDOs) against non-compliant developers. Aliling noted that developers in violation could face average penalties of around PHP600,000 in addition to CDOs, which halt the sale of housing units until compliance is achieved.

DHSUD Senior Undersecretary Sharon Faith Paquiz, who leads the Zero Backlog Program and oversees the Housing and Real Estate Development Regulation Bureau, reported that non-compliance cases were identified during the examination of pending regulatory processes in regional offices. Paquiz affirmed the necessity of strict law enforcement and continued issuance of compliance orders to developers.

To improve coordination, Aliling plans to engage with leaders of major real estate developer groups in a dialogue aimed at strengthening awareness and cooperation in implementing the balanced housing program.