[ manilastandardtoday.com ] October 22, 2011
The Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) will administer the P5 billion housing loan program for members of the Government Service Insurance System, Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Friday. The deal will be for the benefit of 1.7 million members of the pension system for state employees.
Pag-IBIG has reached an agreement with GSIS on a credit facility that allows the fund to administer ther pension fund’s housing loan, Binay said in a speech during the 5th Philippine Housing Finance Forum in Makati.
The additional funds will boost projects being carried out by the National Housing Authority which has lined up eight more this year and and another 32 in 2012, Binay said. These projects are intended to benefit 21,000 families.
“Housing agencies are also reviewing their policies in end-buyer financing, developmental financing, the guaranty system and the secondary mortgage market in order to make more funds available for housing,” he said.
The Vice President said that the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council is implementing a national resettlement policy aimed at establishing common procedures and guidelines for agencies tasked to resettle informal settlers.
Along this line, the guidelines for the Community Mortgage Program of the Socialized Housing Finance Corporation have been revised with an eye on boosting the “secure tenure” of informal settlers and protecting them from unscrupulous operators.
Binay said that stronger linkages between key shelter agencies and local government units have proven effective in narrowing the country’s housing gap.
An example of this linkage is the tie-up between the Pag-IBIG fund and Quezon City, which have signed a memorandum of agreement to build low-cost housing units for low-income employees and informal settlers occupying danger areas in the city.
A similar MOU was forged between Pag-Ibig and Ligao, in Albay during the Pabahay Caravan in Bicol earlier this week.
“Given the critical role of the LGUs, we actively promote the creation of a land management and housing office at the local level, one that is familiar with the locality’s needs and resources and would be in the best position to determine the appropriate uses of land as well as its shelter priorities,” Binay said. Eric Apolonio
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