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MANILA - Streamlining the permitting process will hasten housing projects that can help the industry recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Phinma Properties president and CEO Raphael Felix said Monday.

The "tedious" process usually takes 2 to 3 years to get a housing project started since developers need at least 127 signatures and to deal with 46 government agencies, Felix said.

"Ideally if we can cut that down into a year, it would be great," Felix said.

"The permitting process remains to be a burden for housing developers especially now when a lot of government offices are not working at full capacity so the length of time for which it takes for us to secure a permit is relatively long and perhaps longer now, if they can streamline that then perhaps it will help the industry a lot," he added.

Phinma Properties is a subsidiary of PHINMA Corp engaged in medium and high-rise housing development.

With "strong demand," Felix said mass housing and subdivision development should be given the same support as the Build, Build, Build campaign for their contribution to the economy.

Housing groups are also urging the government to retain income tax holidays for mass housing and lower interest rates a bit more, among others, Felix said, adding that an additional loan moratorium would "hurt" the industry.

President Rodrigo Duterte recently approved the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, the country's second coronavirus response law, which included a 60-day loan moratorium to cushion the pandemic's impact on Filipinos.

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