Recently, a public welfare project named "National Housing Plan" (4PH) by the Philippine government is facing financial difficulties due to significant budget cuts. At the same time, a large number of vacant properties left after the decline of the POGO industry, especially those owned by Chinese, are being included in policy discussions, triggering a new round of concerns among Chinese investors in the Philippines about asset security.
With a drastic reduction in the fiscal budget, where will the money for the housing project come from?
The 4PH plan, vigorously promoted by the Marcos Jr. administration, was originally intended to provide affordable housing for low-income groups. However, the ideal is plump, but reality is skinny. With the shutdown of the gambling industry and the lackluster economic recovery, the government's finances are stretched thin, and the annual budget for this plan has been slashed repeatedly from the initially planned approximately 700 million pesos to just 35 million pesos. Frankly, this amount is hardly enough even for a symbolic start of construction. The project cannot stop as the slogans have already been shouted out, but how to fill the huge funding gap is a headache for the government.
Vacant properties become a focus, and suggestions from lawmakers shake the Chinese community
When money is tight, resources must be found. After POGO's withdrawal, the real estate market in areas like Pasay and Parañaque, which were once hotspots in Metro Manila, quickly cooled down, with a significant drop in both rents and transaction volumes. Data from real estate research institutes show that there are over 80,000 vacant residential units in Metro Manila. These "uninhabited houses" quickly entered the policymakers' field of vision. Philippine Senator Erwin Tulfo publicly suggested that the government should consider "purchasing or taking over" these long-vacant apartments, especially those previously used by POGO personnel, to be used as public housing resources. This statement caused quite a stir in the Chinese community, as everyone knows that a considerable part of these vacant properties are the result of years of investment by the Chinese.
From business to real estate, the sense of security for Chinese assets in the Philippines is declining
In recent years, the business environment for Chinese in the Philippines has been changing, with stricter law enforcement inspections and rising compliance costs. Now, even the real estate assets considered as "bottom of the barrel" seem to have been pushed onto the policy discussion table, intensifying the unease. Some Chinese businessmen privately lament, "It used to be difficult to do business, now it feels unsafe to put money anywhere." This concern is not unfounded. Whether the 4PH plan will truly touch on private property rights? Whether the so-called "purchases" are market transactions or might involve policy pressure? There are no clear answers yet, but uncertainty itself is a risk. Readers interested in the Philippine market dynamics can pay more attention to authoritative information published on the PASA official website for more comprehensive information.
The future is uncertain, asset planning needs to be more cautious
Currently, the related suggestions are still in the discussion stage, and whether they will be implemented and in what form remains to be observed. However, this is undoubtedly a clear signal: in the post-POGO era in the Philippines, the collision that may occur between fiscal pressure, social policies, and market stock assets is placing some Chinese assets in a more complex environment for consideration. For Chinese in the Philippines, whether holding property, running a business, or planning long-term residency, it is necessary to more cautiously assess the direction of policies and prepare in advance for various possibilities. As the wind starts from the end of a small wave, savvy investors need to be more awake than ever.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leader" gambling news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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