Informal housing loans in process reach P800 million

Housing loan assistance to homeowners’ associations of informal settlers amounting to some P799.96 million is currently being processed under the government’s Community Mortgage Program (CMP) to enable urban poor families nationwide to own the lands they occupy and for house construction or improvements.

In a report to Housing Secretary Michael T. Defensor, concurrent chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Lawyer Angelico T. Salud, president of National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) said that the loans, in various processing stages by the agency as of year-end, will finance 165 CMP project sites nationwide for 22,458 family-beneficiaries.

Defensor early during the month convened a shelter program assessment conference to closely monitor the compliance by key shelter agencies with the housing commitments and to address any issues that could hamper the attainment of these targets.

Salud said that of the total loans being processed by NHMFC, P21.41-million worth is now with payment vouchers, corresponding to 10 projects and 838 beneficiaries; loans already approved by the NHMFC board of directors – P367.17 million, for 89 projects and 11,447 families; loan applications for board approval – P257.92 million, for 31 projects and 5,774 families; and loan applications whose documents are for delivery to NHMFC – P153.26 million, for 35 projects and 4,399 beneficiaries.

Apart form these loans currently in process, Salud also informed that homeowners’ associations have filed loan applications for a total of 134 CMP project sites still for accreditation, with a total loan value of over P1-billion for some 17,377 urban poor families.

These projects, which will be extended a loan commitment line upon project accreditation, includes 75 CMP housing sites already occupied by informal settlers (on-site projects); and 59 projects where informal settlers will be relocated/resettled.

"With the existing inventories of CMP projects already lined up for financing, we are confident of meeting the NHMFC target-contribution to the overall commitments of the national shelter program, given that funds, sourced from direct government subsidies, shall be accordingly released on schedule," Salud added.