MANILA, Philippines — The National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) has partnered with Aquira Land Development Corp. (ALDC) as government ramps up efforts to address the nation’s housing backlog with the cooperation of the private sector.
Under the memorandum of agreement signed by the two parties, ALDC will be covered by NHMFC’s Housing Loan Receivables Purchase Program. This means NHMFC purchases ALDC’s future receivables from individuals or groups that purchase homes from them. Thereafter, these customers will pay NHMFC for their homes monthly, at low interest rates, over long periods of time. This will allow ALDC to remain liquid and to continue to build as well as start more projects, and NHMFC to fulfill its mandate of providing affordable financing for housing for low-income Filipinos.
“We know that the government’s housing agencies cannot claim to fully solve the growing housing backlog in the country. We need to help and support our private industry partners like Aquira Land, in accomplishing our mission of providing decent homes for our fellow Filipinos,” NHMFC president Carlo Luis Rabat said.
Already a successful entrepreneur in the wellness and beauty industry when he set up ALDC, its president Erick Armigos said he became aware of the need for low-cost housing while he was studying means to reward loyal employees.
“I was thinking of providing low-cost housing assistance as an incentive for employees who stay with the company for 10 years, but also for every employee to have better access to housing loans. It was while I was studying the feasibility that I learned of the housing backlog.”
He said the COVID-19 pandemic also firmed his resolve to become a low-cost housing developer: “Because of the pandemic, the home has become much more important, it is now also a classroom, a warehouse for small businesses, and it’s also an office for those working from home.”
Ready to hit the ground running in 2022, ALDC already has a pilot project on a 16-hectare property in Barangay Sampaloc, Tanay, Rizal. ALDC aims to build 2,600 units in three years.