A party-list lawmaker is pushing for the passage of a bill extending the corporate life of the National Housing Authority (NHA) by another 50 years.
In House Bill 2994, Pinuno Party-list Rep. Ivan Howard Guintu said his proposal seeks to exempt NHA from certain taxes and regulatory fees, increase its powers and duties, and authorize it to issue bonds and other securities to finance the implementation of its housing programs.
Created in 1975 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 757, the NHA was originally given a corporate term of 50 years, ending in 2025. Guintu’s House Bill No. 2994 seeks to extend the NHA’s corporate term by another 50 years.
HB 2994 also reconstitutes the NHA Board of Directors to have a minimum of 13 members, including two panel experts in urban planning and development and the following: Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD); Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); Secretary of the Department of Finance (DOF); Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM); Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda); Executive Secretary; and General Manager (GM) of the NHA.
The bill said the Secretary of the DHSUD shall be the ex officio chairperson of the Board.
“The proposed new composition of the NHA Board better reflects the holistic approach to affordable and sustainable housing, including environmental sustainability, community sustainability, and financial sustainability,” Guintu said.
“We also tweaked the qualifications of the GM and Assistant GMs [AGMs] to give particular emphasis to urban planning, again, to further sustainable development in our cities and urban areas,” he added.
The current NHA Board is composed of the secretaries of the DPWH, DOTr, DOF, DOLE, and DTI; the Executive Secretary; the Neda Director General; and NHA GM. The new qualifications for the GM and AGMs now specify expertise in housing and urban planning and development.
Moreover, Guintu explained that the proposed law also seeks to exempt the NHA from any tax, assessment fee, charge, or customs or import duty, including income tax, real property tax, capital gains tax, transfer tax, value added tax, donor’s tax and similar taxes; and building permit fee, fire inspection permit fee, Environmental Clearance Certificate fees and other regulatory fees.
He said the NHA shall also be exempt from the payment of documentary stamp tax and registration fees, including fees required for the issuance of transfer certificates of titles.
“We also plan to offer the same exemptions to the projects of the NHA, to promote the policy of improving housing affordability,” the Pinuno lawmaker said.
House Bill 2994 also further authorizes the NHA to issue bonds and other securities to finance the implementation of its housing programs, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Finance and after consultation with the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
“The NHA would be authorized to issue bonds or securities subject to the following conditions: 1) amount of bonds or securities to be issued and sold would only be as much as the annual project implementation would require; 2) no bonds or securities shall be also issued unless 80 percent of those already issued had been sold; and 3) the total amount of the bonds or securities issued shall in no case exceed 10 times its paid up capital and surplus,” Guintu said.
The lawmaker added that the bonds and securities to be issued under his proposed law shall be exempt from all kinds of taxes and from attachment, execution, and seizure.
The NHA became an attached corporation of the DHSUD by virtue of Republic Act No. 11201 or the DSHUD Act in 2019.
“Nearing the end of its corporate life, the NHA and its objectives remain relevant and important in providing housing to low-income families,” Guintu said.
“With our growing population, there is a continued demand for low-cost and socialized housing. To meet this and in order to achieve and fulfill its mandate, the NHA’s corporate life needs to be extended and its powers and functions expanded,” he added.