CMP rules to facilitate loan release

The recent adoption of new implementing rules of the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) will facilitate the release of some P581.3 million in housing loan assistance to some 18,376 homeless families in 129 housing projects for informal settlers nationwide, according to National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) president Angelico Salud.

He said that the issuance of more liberal and reasonable CMP lending guidelines is in support of the new housing initiatives of the administration of President Arroyo, being implemented by Secretary Michael T. Defensor, concurrent Chairman both of the NHMFC Board of Directors and of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

The revised CMP rules now include as part of the loanable amount the related expenses required in the transfer of the land title from the landowner to the CMP-borrower community association of informal settlers, such as payment of transfer tax and of documentary stamp tax.

To benefit from this new rule are existing CMP loan applications for 69 projects with a total loan value of P241.31 million for some 6,784 family-beneficiaries, according to Salud.

The CMP loan guidelines now also accept as loan collateral lands to be acquired by informal dwellers which have been reclassified as commercial, industrial, residential or for other non-agricultural uses, as contained in the new and revised town plans promulgated by local government units and approved by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.

This rule allows the processing of CMP loan inventories for 57 CMP projects of some 9,149 beneficiaries, with a loan value of P329.91 million.

Properties offered as loan collaterals for CMP will also now be accepted without the need for improvement, prior to loan release, such as earthfilling and riprapping provided that there exists no danger to life and property. To benefit from this revised rule are three CMP projects with a loan value of P20.09 million.

The last two amendments are applicable only to on-site CMP projects, or where existing settlements of informal dwellers are already located, Salud added.