Vol. XXII, No. 84 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Thursday, November 20, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
DAVAO CITY — City officials want President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to intervene in the impending foreclosure of 6,000 housing units here and avert a potential housing crisis.
The City Council on Tuesday issued a resolution authorizing Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to seek an injunction from Malacañang.
Balikatan Housing Finance, Inc., the collection arm of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC), has issued foreclosure notices on delinquent home buyers.
"The resolution is an instrument for the mayor to tell the President about the plight of our people," City Council Majority Leader Danilo C. Dayanghirang said.
Mr. Duterte has asked Balikatan to forego the foreclosure of housing units at least until after the Christmas season.
He said the issue is more a social than a legal problem, adding that Balikatan should find a relocation site for evicted homeowners.
Balikatan is owned by NHMFC and Deutsche Bank Real Estate Global Organization, which bought the government corporation’s bad assets for more than P5 billion.
Balikatan Spokesman Gerrard Anthony Paez said the properties assumed by Balikatan had been covered by the unified home lending program (UHLP) in the 1980s, and the borrowers were members of the formal sector and had the capacity to pay.
"The UHLP was not deemed to address the needs of subsidized or socialized housing borrowers. Other agencies [have been] tasked to address this sector," he said in a statement.
Mr. Paez said the debts had not been paid for the past 10 to 15 years. The outstanding obligations of the questioned accounts, he added, have gone up five times the original principal. Less than 20% had been repaid.
"That means that more than 15,000 of these borrowers had lived in the property for almost 20 years without paying a single monthly amortization," he said.
Another councilor asked Balikatan to reassess the figures and consider the homeowners’ capacity to pay.
Councilor Diosdado A. Mahipus said Balikatan should cut the principal and amortization rates on acquired assets to give the homeowners a chance to recover their properties.
The Davao City Federation of Homeowners Associations, which consists of 120 homeowners’ groups, have threatened to sue Balikatan officials before the Ombudsman in Mindanao for increasing mortgage rates and foreclosing the properties. — Joel B. Escovilla
