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Government, private sector must work together to decongest Metro Manila
The national government should actively encourage property developers and businesses to establish projects in emerging provincial growth centers as part of a broader strategy to decongest Metro Manila and spread economic opportunities across the country.
“The experience of Central Luzon and the Calabarzon region demonstrates that strategic government investment in roads, expressways and other transport infrastructure can unlock significant private-sector investments in residential communities, townships and commercial developments,” Lobien Realty Group CEO and founder Sheila Lobien told the BusinessMirror in an email interview.
Lobien said the strategy is particularly urgent given the country’s continuing housing backlog. Calabarzon alone has an estimated unmet residential requirement of about 1.4 million units, while Central Luzon has an estimated 25,000-unit housing requirement. Together, the two regions account for around 22 percent of the country’s unmet housing requirements.
The strong relationship between infrastructure and property development is already evident in both regions. Expanded road networks and major infrastructure projects have made locations outside Metro Manila more accessible to workers and homebuyers, encouraging developers to establish townships and residential communities in areas that previously had limited connectivity.
Lobien said the national government and local government units should create an environment that actively encourages developers, investors and companies to establish operations outside the NCR. This includes incentives for companies locating in provincial townships, improved peace and order, better basic services and infrastructure, and skills development for local workers.
Furthermore, the national government and local government units should create an environment that actively encourages developers, investors and companies to establish operations outside the NCR. This includes incentives for companies locating in provincial townships, improved peace and order, better basic services and infrastructure, and skills development for local workers.
Housing demand also reflects the shift. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Residential Property Price Index showed provincial residential property prices rising 11.5 percent in 2025, significantly faster than the 2.4 percent increase recorded in Metro Manila.
Housing loans provide another indication. As of the second quarter of 2025, Calabarzon accounted for 33.2 percent of residential real estate loans, exceeding Metro Manila’s 28.5 percent share. Central Luzon accounted for another 11.9 percent.
Lobien said housing outside Metro Manila generally offers more space for the money, while expressways and other infrastructure have reduced travel barriers between provincial communities and major employment centers.
She said the gains include the redistribution of economic activity, the absorption of provincial labor into higher-paying jobs, and the private sector serving as a force multiplier for government infrastructure spending. Townships create clusters of residential, commercial, office, retail and institutional activities that generate jobs and expand local governments’ tax bases.
There are already 27 townships in Central Luzon and Calabarzon, while similar developments are emerging in Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo and Davao.
She said the clustering of developments in Pampanga and Bulacan, as well as Laguna and Cavite, is particularly significant. Developers are effectively co-investing alongside government infrastructure projects such as the North-South Commuter Railway, the Cavite-Laguna Expressway and the Bulacan International Airport.
Master-planned communities outside Metro Manila can tap the large working-age population in the provinces, including underemployed workers, while allowing companies, particularly business-process outsourcing firms, to access new labor pools.
The potential economic impact is substantial. Capital Town in Pampanga, a P350-billion development, is projected to generate about 250,000 direct and indirect jobs across BPO, transportation, retail, food and construction.
She said the government’s role, therefore, should not end when a road or expressway is completed. Infrastructure should be viewed as the foundation for a wider development strategy in which government and private developers work together to create sustainable economic corridors.
Developers are already responding to this shift. Sta. Lucia Land Inc.’s 36-hectare Nasugbu Newtown Center in Batangas illustrates how provincial development is evolving beyond conventional housing projects.
The master-planned, mixed-use development is envisioned to include residential communities, restaurants, retail and lifestyle establishments, supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and modern office spaces. It will also feature community amenities, including a clubhouse and swimming pool. Sta. Lucia has also committed P200 million worth of land for the planned Nasugbu Sports Complex.
Such projects show that provincial development is increasingly about building complete communities rather than merely selling residential lots.