SHDA holds 27th National Developers Convention in Oro
TO update its national members with the latest and relevant issues and laws in the housing industry, the Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) has conducted its 27th National Developers Convention anchored on the theme: “Roadmap to BALAI.”
Held in Xavier Sports and Country Club in Cagayan de Oro on September 13 and 14, the convention is organized to gather everyone involved in the housing industry to inform them of the latest laws, regulations, improvements and problems in the said industry.
“This is where we gather and present to them both the government side, because housing industry is highly regulate, and we always gather from the different chapters, the different regions, their concerns in terms of their business,” Christopher Narciso, the national president of SHDA, said.
“SHDA, our mandate really is to be the representative of the housing developers to be able to lobby with government and other industries,” he added.
Through its Philippine Housing Industry Roadmap, which was launched in 2012, SHDA envisions to eliminate the housing backlog by the year 2030; having a shared goal with the National Housing Program BALAI (Building, Accessible, Livable, Affordable and Inclusive) 2018 campaign led by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).
“The housing roadmap actually identifies the housing demand and supply and base on that, we established the housing backlog present in the country. That roadmap more or less puts together all the relevant statistics and data,” Narciso said.
“From there, we were able to synthesize the supply-demand, as well as the prevalent issues and hurdles that is preventing the industry from improving the quantity, affordability of housing production,” he added.
The roadmap, according to the SHDA national president, was presented to the different government agencies and key shelter agencies, which includes the National Economic and Development Authority, Board of Investments, and HUDCC.
It also has been the basis for the industry to formulate new initiatives and directives that guide them with how they can collaborate with their government counterparts.
“It’s always been in the DNA of SHDA, ever since it’s conception in 1970, and its actually part of our mandate, that SHDA works together without government counterparts to address the issues in terms of housing in the country,” Narciso said.
He also mentioned that they have been continuously updating the roadmap, the latest update being in 2016.
“And this year, we’re
WITH the continued increase of rice prices in the Philippines, there is but one question consumers and farmers would want to ask on the case of the soon-to-be commercialized golden rice – is it affordable?
Golden rice, according to International Rice Research Institute (Irri), is seen to be a complementary answer to end Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) among Filipinos. It is a genetically-engineered (GE) rice that has a betacarotene in the grain (beta-carotene is a precursor of Vitamin A) which can be a new food-based approach to improve vitamin A status. starting again a fresh round of updates so hopefully we should be able to put that together and present it by next year,” Narciso said.
This, they say, can significantly help the most affected sector of the problem – the malnourished poor. In a most recent study conducted by Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) in 2013, there are approximately 2.1 million Filipinos aged from six months to six years old considered Vitamin A deficient.
But how can this GE rice help the poor if, once commercialized, the most affected sector will not benefit because of nonaffordability?
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Senior Science Research Specialist Reynante Ordonio assured in an interview
The 27th National Developers Convention desires that together, the private housing developers and the government entities, will find the most immediate and permanent solutions towards achieving their common dream of providing a house for every Filipino.