MANILA, Philippines – PHINMA Corporation is dipping its toes into the socialized housing market with plans to launch two projects in Davao and Bacolod cities, its chairman and chief executive officer Ramon del Rosario Jr. said.
Del Rosario told reporters at the sidelines of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) inaugural meeting that the houses will cost around P700,000 to P800,000 each.
Under Pag-IBIG’s Affordable Housing Program, qualified members may apply for a housing loan of up to P750,000 based on their actual need or desired loan amount.
The three-hectare development in Davao City will serve as the pilot of what del Rosario describes as their community-building model. He said the project will include some 530 homes, as well as a daycare center and other facilities for skills development and employment.
“We really want to make sure we know what we’re doing and that we can do it at scale and at a reasonable cost, and hopefully generate reasonable profits as well, the way we’re doing it in education,” del Rosario said.
The Davao City pilot project will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2025. PHINMA aims to begin turning over the homes to its new owners by the fourth quarter of 2026.
Del Rosario said PHINMA has also set its eyes on Bacolod where it launched an adjacent township in October 2024. The company hopes to launch the second community of low-cost homes in the first quarter of 2026.
PHINMA has yet to disclose the amount it invested in the project. But del Rosario first unveiled plans for the development after the company completed its P1-billion stock rights offering.
Del Rosario said PHINMA also plans to bring the housing project to Iloilo and Luzon. However, the company has yet to find the right property for the project.
The Philippines currently faces a housing backlog of around 6.5 million units.
The Marcos Jr. administration initially aimed to build one million homes annually to address the backlog. But Housing Secretary Jerry Acuzar earlier admitted having difficulty in meeting this goal due to challenges in construction and the bidding process. – Rappler.com