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Release Date :
Reference Number :
539

 

Introduction

This Special Release presents the final data series on construction statistics from approved building permits for the year 2009.

The final data set provides updates to the 2009 Quarterly Special Releases on construction statistics. The sources of updates are additional approved building permits collected after cut-off dates because of data collection constraints. These additional documents were not yet available for inclusion in the quarterly tabulation of data on designated target dates.

Included in this report are revisions to the preliminary figures for the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Cavite and Laguna. This was due to the incorrect reporting on the number of units or building for rowhouse/apartment/townhouse in the building permit form. Thus, preliminary results were corrected accordingly. The final data then indicates a decrease rather than increment in the number of units compared with the preliminary figures. In the case of Pampanga, the decrease in the number of units, floor area and value of construction in the final data was due to multiple reporting. For the month of April, 11 approved building permits have the same entries. Hence, data for these 11 permits were reported 11 times. Similarly, for the month of May, 12 approved permits with the same entries were reported 12 times. Refer to Table 6 to Table 9 for the quarterly final tables.

Summary of Results

 

  Philippines  

      2009      

  2008  

  % Change  

Number

   112,102

   106,076

    5.7

Floor Area (in square meters)  

   16,611,190

   17,365,358

   -4.3

Value (in PHP1,000)

   143,529,498

   143,762,740

   -0.2

 

Number of approved building permit applications

  1. Approved building permit applications nationwide for the year 2009 summed up to 112,102. This number represents an increase of 5.7 percent compared to 106,076 approved applications during the year 2008.

 

  1. Residential building construction was the countrys biggest type of building construction for 2009 with 84,626 or 75.5 percent of the total approved building permits. This reflects a 7.0 percent increase from the previous year with 79,064 approved building permit applications. Likewise, non-residential building constructions numbering to 13,280 rose by 12.1 percent from 11,850 approved building permits in 2008.

 

  1. Combined approved building permits for additions, alterations and repairs with a total of 14,196 dropped 6.4 percent from 15,162 applications recorded in 2008. Figure 1 compares the number of approved building permits by type of construction for 2008 and 2009.


 

  1. Among the regions, Region IVA (CALABARZON) recorded the highest number of approved building permits at 29,946 or 26.7 percent of the total approved building permits during the year 2009. Other regions exceeding ten thousand mark were Region III (Central Luzon), National Capital Region and Region VII (Central Visayas) with 14,535 (13.0%), 13,866 (12.4%) and 13,466 (12.0%) approved building permits, respectively. The least number of approved building permits was posted by Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with only 234 for the year 2009.

 

  1. At the provincial level, Cavite reported the biggest share with 11,185 or 10.0 percent of the total approved building permits in 2009. This was followed by provinces of Cebu with 8,504 (7.6%), Laguna with 8,283 (7.4%), Pampanga with 6,424 (5.7%), Davao del Sur with 4,635 (4.1%) and Bulacan with 4,237 (3.8%) approved applications during the year 2009. Figure 2 shows the distribution of approved building permits by region.

 


 

  1. Total floor area of construction for 2009 was estimated at 16.6 million square meters. This translates to an average cost of PHP8,640 per square meter, higher by 4.4 percent compared to the average cost of PHP8,278 per square meter in 2008.

 

  1. Residential building construction had a total floor area of 10.1 million square meters, reflecting an average cost per floor area of PHP7,963, up by 4.7 percent from PHP7,607 per square meter reported in 2008. Moreover, total floor area for non-residential building construction in 2009 reached 5.9 million square meters. This translates to an average cost of PHP8,667 per square meter, indicating a growth of 6.2 percent from PHP8,164 in 2008.

 

  1. Value of construction in 2009 was estimated at PHP143.5 billion, indicating a slight decrease of 0.2 percent from PHP143.7 billion recorded during the period 2008.
     
  2. Value of residential construction accounted for more than half or 55.8 percent of the total value of construction worth PHP80.1 billion in 2009. This indicates to an increase of 7.0 percent from previous year value of PHP74.9 billion.
     
  3. On the other hand, value of non-residential building construction amounting to PHP51.3 billion, went down by 9.0 percent from PHP55.9 billion reported in 2008.
     
  4. Furthermore, combined value for additions, alterations and repairs was estimated at PHP12.1 billion, declined by 6.3 percent from PHP12.9 billion registered during the period 2008. Figure 3 compares the aggregate value of construction by type of building for 2008 and 2009.

 


TECHNICAL NOTES

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.

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 (PSIC) 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

 

 

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