Stephen Fletcher 

I love the Philippines and it’s people, and should foreigners be permitted to buy property I would sell my house in the UK and move there tomorrow.

I would love to give something back to the people that have made me welcome and shown me nothing but wonderful hospitality over the years. The sale of my house in the UK along with my monthly pensions would not only allow the purchase of a modest property in the Philippines. But also allow me in a small way to both invest in businesses and provide much needed employment to some of the local communities.

Foreigners who would purchase properties are usually those who wish to put down roots in the country. Often they would be more than willing to share their knowledge and experience gained overseas with the local communities. Many would wish to invest in local businesses and subsequently be paying taxes. Those with existing pension income would be introducing a substantial financial boost to local economies.

I understand that a major concern for many, would be that foreigners would buy up prime property and only use it as a holiday homes, and thus providing little or no benefit to the local community. This could be minimized or alleviated completely if a clause was implemented into legislation which set a minimum residency period each year (say 200 days a year) that the property owner or his family must spend within the Philippines, thus guaranteeing an income into the country, whilst allowing the foreigner to maintain contacts back home.