Number of construction projects drops by 9.2 percent

1. The total number of building construction projects all over the country was recorded at 23,970 during the third quarter of 2010, representing 9.2 percent drop from the 26,397 construction projects recorded during the same period of 2009. 
    

2. Residential type building with 17,618 new constructions went down by 9.9 percent from 19,543 during the same quarter of 2009 while non-residential constructions went up slightly by 1.1 percent to 3,138 from 3,103 during the same period of last year. 
    

3. Furthermore, additions, alterations and repairs aggregating to 3,214 dropped by 14.3 percent from 3,751 constructions recorded during the same quarter of 2009. Figure 1 compares the number of new construction projects by type of construction for the third quarters of 2009 and 2010. 
    

    
    

4. Among the regions, CALABARZON (Region IVA) recorded the highest number of new building construction projects with 5,971 or 24.9 percent of the total. National Capital Region (NCR) ranked second with 3,614 construction projects or 15.1 percent of the total, followed by Central Luzon (Region III) with 2,406 constructions (10.0%). Central Visayas (Region VII) and Davao (Region XI), ranked fourth and fifth with 2,106 (8.8%) and 1,999 (8.3%) construction projects, respectively. 
    

5. At the provincial level, Cavite reported the biggest share to total construction with 2,180 construction projects or 9.1 percent of the total construction during the third quarter of 2010. Other provinces exceeding a thousand marks were Laguna with 1,238 (5.2%), Rizal with 1,074 (4.5%), Batangas with 1,054 (4.4%), and Cebu with 1,011 (4.2%). Figure 2 shows the regional distribution of construction projects for the third quarter of 2010. 
    

   
    

   Value of construction rises by 25.1 percent 
    

6. Total value of construction projects during the third quarter of 2010 grew 25.1 percent to PHP46.3 billion from PHP37.0 billion recorded during the same quarter of 2009. 
    

7. Value of new residential building constructions posted an increase of 33.3 percent amounting to PHP24.6 billion from PHP18.4 billion during the same quarter of 2009. 
    

8. Similarly, value of new non-residential building constructions climbed 14.5 percent amounting to PHP18.1 billion from PHP15.8 billion registered during the same quarter of 2009. 
    

9. Moreover, combined value for additions, alterations and repairs, estimated at PHP3.6 billion, jumped by 30.6 percent from PHP2.8 billion registered during the same period of 2009. Figure 3 compares the aggregate value of construction by type of building for the third quarters of 2009 and 2010. 
    

   

    

10. Regionwise, value of construction for NCR consistently remained highest at PHP24.0 billion, accounting for 51.9 percent share of the total value. CALABARZON (Region IVA), and Central Luzon (Region III) ranked a far second and third with respective shares of 13.7 percent (PHP6.3 billion) and 7.6 percent (PHP3.5 billion). This was followed by Central Visayas (Region VII) and Davao (Region XI) with construction value of PHP2.5 billion and PHP1.9 billion, respectively. 
     

    Average cost of residential construction is PHP8,811 per square meter 
     

11. Total value of residential building construction reached PHP24.6 billion with a total floor area of 2.8 million square meters, translating to an average cost of PHP8,811 per square meter. 
     

12. Single type residential units recorded the most number of residential building constructions with 16,038 or 91.0 percent of the total. Total value of construction for this type amounted to PHP12.1 billion covering a total floor area of 1.6 million square meters translating to an average cost of PHP7,438 per square meter. 
     

13. Apartment/accessoria followed next with 1,236 constructions or 7.0 percent of total residential construction. This type of residential construction had an estimated construction value of PHP2.7 billion with total floor area of 390.2 thousand square meters or an average cost of PHP6,812 per square meter. Figure 4 displays the percentage distribution of the number and value of new residential building construction by type for the third quarter of 2010. 
     

    

     

    Average cost of non-residential construction is PHP9,406 per square meter 
     

14. During the third quarter of 2010, total value of non-residential construction was estimated at PHP18.1 billion pesos with a total floor area of 1.9 million square meters. This translates to an average cost of PHP9,406 per square meter. 
     

15. Commercial type building dominated all other types of non-residential construction with 1,821 or 58.2 percent of the total. Total value of construction for this type was estimated at PHP11.0 billion covering a total floor area of 1.2 million square meters or an average cost of PHP9,394 per square meter. 
     

16. Institutional building construction, which ranked a far second, had 586 or 18.7 percent of the total non-residential construction, construction value of PHP4.9 billion and a total floor area of 412.6 thousand square meters or an average cost of PHP11,870 per square meter. 
     

17. The least number of non-residential constructions was reported for agricultural type with 118 or 3.8 percent of the total. Construction value for this type was estimated at PHP0.2 billion covering a total floor area of 75.3 thousand square meters, reflecting an average cost of PHP2,548 per square meter. Figure 5 shows the number and value of new non-residential constructions by type for the third quarter of 2010.

TECHNICAL NOTES

PRIVATE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION STATISTICS

Background

The collection of approved building permit forms started in 1977 when the National Census and Statistics Office and the Department of Local Government and Community Development entered into an informal agreement in 1976 to implement the provisions of the national building code and monitor the building permit forms. Later on January 6, 1978, Memorandum of Agreement between NCSO and the former Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communication (DPWTC) defined the agencies responsibilities in the collection of private construction statistics. From then on, the collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of construction statistics became the responsibility of the NCSO (now the National Statistics Office) while the printing of the building permit forms became the responsibility of the DPWTC (now the Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)).

With the devolution of some functions of the National Government to the LGUs under the 1991 Local Government Code, the implementation of the National Building Code is vested in the city or municipal government. In 1993, a joint Memorandum Circular was issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the DPWH defining the duties and responsibilities of the municipality/city engineers relative to the implementation of the National Building Code (NBC) and in the production of construction statistics from approved building permits. As a result, the printing of the building permit and certificate of completion forms became the responsibility of the local building official.

Scope and Coverage

Private construction statistics from approved building permits relate to data on new constructions and additions, alterations and repairs of existing residential and non-residential buildings and other structures undertaken in all cities/municipalities of the country.

For this publication, data for the provinces of Mountain Province, Guimaras, Basilan (excluding Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao (excluding Cotabato City), Sulu and Tawi-tawi are not included in the tabulation as these provinces did not submit building permit documents and certification of no construction before the generation of preliminary tables. However, if any, these are to be included in the annual tabulation.

Source if Information

Construction statistics are compiled by the National Statistics Office (NSO) from the copies of original application forms of approved building permits as well as from the demolition permits collected every month by NSO field personnel from the Offices of Local Building Officials (LBOs) nationwide.

Limitations:

1. Data on private building constructions refer to those proposed to be constructed during the reference period and not to construction work completed during the reference period. 
    

2. The completeness of the number of building permits collected relies on the approval of applications filed with the LBOs. Hence, private building constructions without approved building permits are excluded in the tabulation of data.

Geographic Classification

Private building constructions are classified and presented by geographic area using the Philippine Standard Geographic Classification (PSGC). The PSGC contains the latest updates on the official number of regions, provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays in the Philippines. It consists of 17 administrative regions as approved under Executive Order No. 36 dated 19 September 2001 (Providing for the Reorganization of the Administrative Regions in Mindanao) and Executive Order No. 103 dated 17 May 2002 (Dividing Region IV into Region IV-A and Region IV-B, transferring the province of Aurora to Region III).

The geographic codes are in accordance with NSCB Resolution No. 3, Series of 2005 that approved the PSGC.

Industry Classification

Private building construction statistics utilizes the amended 1994 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification to classify the main activity through the use or type of occupancy of the building.

Collection

The number of building permit forms accomplished by the applicant comes in five (5) copies. The NSO copy of the approved building permit is made available within the first five (5) working days after each reference month. Collections of these documents from the Local Building Official (LBO) in city/municipality are undertaken by NSO field personnel within this period.

Collected documents for each month are properly checked as to its completeness by verifying the beginning and ending numbers indicated in the permit numbers. Missing numbers are indicated, with corresponding reasons, in the transmittal. In cases where there is no construction in a given month in a municipality, a certification that there was no construction is provided by the LBO to the NSO field staff.

Data Processing

Data processing of approved building permits is done both manually and mechanically. Copies of documents collected from the offices of LBOs are properly controlled, sorted, edited and coded, folioed and encoded in the NSO provincial offices. During machine validation, inconsistent and invalid entries which are flagged in an error listing are corrected in the data file. This process is repeated until there are no more inconsistent or erroneous entries found in the error listing. The cleaned data files are then forwarded to NSO Central Office for further processing and consolidation of data files for the generation of preliminary tables. Data files received after the cut-off dates of submission set for each quarter are to be included in the final data.

Preliminary results are based from data files that have undergone data processing in the provincial offices. Hence, preliminary results may be revised to include documents received after cut-off period for preliminary tabulation and/or due to additional data processing and evaluation at the Central Office. The revision of statistics for a particular quarter is reflected in the annual tables which are considered as the final data. The annual tables are generated when all the monthly tables for the year have been completed and finalized.

Statistics Generated

Construction statistics generated from approved building permits provide monthly data on building construction at the municipality level nationwide.

      This statistics include:

• number

• floor area

• type of building

• value of construction

• number of storey

Statistical Tables

The statistical tables are presented at the regional and provincial levels by type of building and by period according to form of ownership. Preliminary tables are generated 90 days after the reference quarter while annual tables are generated eight months after the reference year. Statistical tables at the municipal level are also generated but are not published.

Unpublished Data

Aside from the preliminary tables posted in the NSO website, annual, quarterly and monthly statistical tables at the municipal level by type of building and by form of ownership are available at the Industry Statistics Division, National Statistics Office.

Other special tabulations may also be made available upon request, addressed to the Administrator, National Statistics Office, Solicarel Bldg. I, Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. Sta. Mesa, Manila.

Dissemination

Construction statistics derived from approved building permits are made public in the form of Special Releases posted in the NSO website. The quarterly Special Releases are reports containing the preliminary results of construction statistics generated 90 days after the reference quarter while the annual Special Release is a consolidated report of the quarterly preliminary data including the revisions made in the preliminary results and data from documents which are submitted after the cut-off dates for each quarter. 
 

Definition of Terms: 

Building Permit - A written authorization granted by the Local Building Official (LBO) to an applicant allowing him to proceed with the construction of a specific project after plans, specifications and other pertinent documents have been found to be in conformity with the National Building Code (PD 1096).

Building - Any independent, free-standing structure comprised of one or more rooms or other spaces, covered by a roof and enclosed with external walls or dividing walls, which extend from the foundation to the roof.

Construction - All on-site work done from site preparation, excavation, foundation, assembly of all the components and installation of utilities and equipment of buildings/structures.

Residential Building - A building for which its major parts or more than half of its gross floor area is built for dwelling purposes. This type of building can be of the single type, duplex, an apartment and/or accessoria and residential condominium.

Single House - A complete structure intended for a single family or household, i.e. bungalow, 2-storey house, nipa hut.

Duplex - A structure intended for two households, with complete living facilities for each; it is a single structure divided into two dwelling units by a wall extending from the floor to the ceiling.

Apartment - A structure, usually of two storeys, made up of independent living quarters, with independent entrances from internal walls and courts.

Accesoria - A one or two-floor structure divided into several dwelling units, each dwelling unit having its own separate entrance from the outside.

Residential Condominium - A structure, usually of several storeys, consisting of multiple dwelling units.

Other residential constructions - Consist of school or company staff houses, living quarters for drivers and maids and guardhouses.

Non-Residential Building - This type includes commercial, industrial, agricultural and institutional buildings.

Commercial Buildings - Office buildings and all buildings which are intended for use primarily in wholesale, retail and service trades; i.e. stores, hotels, restaurants, banks, disco houses, etc.

Industrial Buildings - All buildings which are used to house the production, assembly and warehousing activities of industrial establishments; i.e. factories, plants, mills, repair shops, machine shops, printing press, storage plant, electric generating plants.

Institutional Buildings - All buildings which are primarily engaged in providing educational instructions and hospital/health care; ports, airports and other government buildings; i.e. school, museums, libraries, sanitaria, churches, hospitals.

Agricultural Buildings - All buildings which are used to house livestocks, plants and agricultural products such as barn, poultry house, piggeries, stables, greenhouses and grain mill.

Other Non Buildings Constructions - These include cemetery structures, street furnitures, waiting sheds, communication towers, etc.

Addition - Any new construction which increases the height or area of an existing building/structure.

Alteration - Construction in a building/structure involving changes in the materials used, partitioning, location/size of openings, structural parts, existing utilities and equipment but does not increase the overall area thereof.

Repair - Remedial work done on any damaged or deteriorated portion/s of a building/structure to restore its original condition.

Demolition - The systematic dismantling or destruction of a building/structure or in part.

Street Furniture - These are street structures consisting of monuments, waiting sheds, benches, plant boxes, lampposts, electric poles and telephone poles.

Floor Area of Building - The sum of the area of each floor of the building measured to the outer surface of the outer walls including the area of lobbies, cellars, elevator shafts and all communal spaces in multi-dwellings. Areas of balconies are excluded.

Total Value of Construction - The sum of the cost of building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and others. The value is derived from the approved building permit and represents the estimated value of the building or structure when completed.

Source:   National Statistics Office
                 Manila, Philippines