Manila, March 21 -- The number of construction activities reached 12,526 in January, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.

Preliminary data released by the PSA showed that the number of constructions from approved building permits was equivalent to 3.71 million square meters of floor area with a total value of PHP48.57 billion.

"This excludes alteration and repair, other non-residential, such as facade, helipad, niche, water tank, etc., and other constructions, which include demolition, street furniture, landscaping, and signboards, since there is no reported floor area for these types of constructions," the PSA said.

PSA data showed that residential buildings reported the highest number of constructions at 7,671 or...