7/05/2008 [ tribune.net.ph ]
Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday said the House of Representatives will press on with its investigation on the foreclosure of some 52,000 low-cost and socialized housing units after he was informed that the special purpose company that bought the delinquent loans reneged on its commitment to give the beneficiaries a better deal for them to keep their homes.
Nograles said the House Committee on Housing was ready to wrap up its investigation on the massive foreclosures after the Balikatan Housing Finance Inc. (BHFI), the special purpose company that took over the delinquent accounts of the mass housing beneficiaries, promising it will only foreclose homes as a last resort and structure the housing loans to allow them to pay their obligations under easier payment terms.
He charged that BHFI merely tried to lull the House into believing that the housing beneficiaries were already safe from being ejected from their homes after Nograles, through his son and chief-of-staff lawyer Karlo Nograles, discovered that BHFI demands exorbitant downpayment rates as a pre-requisite for loan restructuring.
“This is totally unacceptable. The basic concept of loan restructuring is to give the housing beneficiaries a better deal so that they can keep their homes. Imposing impossible rates is almost like foreclosure itself,” Nograles said recalling a recent congressional inquiry where top officials of the government’s private housing partner vowed to make terms easier for delinquent homeowners facing foreclosure.
“ I feel deceived because all along I thought the housing beneficiaries who were in danger of losing their homes are already safe and secure. The House should continue with its investigation on BHFI,” Nograles added.
While the BHFI agreed to stop the foreclosure of some 50,000 out of 52,000 delinquent accounts which it purchased from the National Home Mortgage and Finance Corp. (NHMFC) at discounted rates, it will only do so if the home owners will agree to pay 25 percent of the total cost of their outstanding loans.
“Asking for a 25 percent down-payment is a glaring contradiction to the intent of the government’s low-cost mass housing program,” said Nograles who authored House Resolution 604 that prompted the House inquiry on the reported “massive foreclosure” of low-cost units.
During said congressional inquiry presided over by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rodolfo Valencia, chairman of the committee on housing and urban development, Balikatan officials stressed their policy that foreclosure would only be resorted to as a last resort.
Valencia said that officials of BHFI assured his committee that they will take into consideration all possible options so borrowers would be able to amortize their restructured loans.
The NHMFC earlier transferred to the BHF thousands of delinquent loan accounts for proper disposition.
But Nograles said that “making possible housing loans restructuring for delinquent homeowners but, at the same time, demanding a prohibitive down-payment rate is pure mockery of their commitment during the public hearing.”
“The homeowners have suggested that their housing loans under Balikatan be covered under the proposed condonation program being considered by the House of Representatives to save more than 52,000 delinquent homeowners from the miseries of foreclosure.
The BHFI engaged the services of the Bahay Financial Services to manage the acquired accounts. The BFS stated that of the 52,000 account under its management, it had reached some 47,740 borrowers for possible loan restructuring through an ‘appraisal-based’ refinancing.
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