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MANILA, Philippines — Future housing projects, subdivisions, villages, and other residential properties, including socialized or economic housing, should be required by law to set aside space for information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in their existing and future housing projects.
In House Bill No. 4472, or the Housing Development Digital Connectivity bill, Isabela Rep. Faustino Dy V wants to require developers to make space for future infrastructure and other digital amenities.
Dy said the measure has become a necessity after the COVID-19 pandemic “highlighted just how crucial digital connectivity is to our lives.”
“We must be equipped to tackle the challenges under the new normal, and this includes ensuring greater access to the internet, which we hope this measure will address,” he said on Saturday.
The measure will amend Presidential Decree No. 957 to include ICT infrastructure in the list of facilities that should be put up in open spaces of housing projects.
HB 4472 provides that a one-hectare housing project should reserve at least 30 percent of its gross area for open space.
A portion of this space should be allocated exclusively for parks, playgrounds, or recreational use, with the following standards:
- 9 percent of gross area for high-density or social housing (66 to 100 family lots per gross hectare)
- 7 percent of gross area for medium-density or economic housing (21 to 65 family lots per gross hectare)
- 3.5 percent of gross area for low-density or open market housing (20 family lots and below per gross hectare)
Developers will be allowed to provide another area for ICT infrastructure and facilities from the net saleable lots outside the mandatory open space to maintain the area reserved for parks, playgrounds, and recreational use.
In addition, the Passive Telecommunications Tower Infrastructure to be built in future and existing subdivisions should be non-exclusive and accessible for shared use by ICT providers.
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