CMP loans to urban poor hit P156-M

Local government units, accredited by the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) as loan originators or conduits have assisted homeowners’ associations of informal settlers in availing themselves last year of some P155.6 million in loans under the Community Mortgage Program (CMP) to assure their land tenure security and housing requirements.

Angelico T. Salud, NHMFC president, reported that LGUs have assumed a bigger and more active role in community organizing for the homeless urban poor as well as in packaging CMP loans thereby providing informal settlers easier access to government housing loan assistance.

Of the three categories of accredited CMP loan intermediaries, which include non-government organizations (NGOs) and government corporations/agencies, LGUs have increased to a high 32 percent their share in originating last year’s total CMP loans of P484.6 million.

"We can attribute this growing assumption by LGUs of their role as primary enabler of low-cost housing in their respective localities to local executives’ response to President Arroyo’s pro-poor housing thrusts as well as to the various program and policy initiatives launched by Housing Secretary Michael T. Defensor, who is concurrent chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council," Salud said.

Salud also noted that while housing NGOs had traditionally captured the major share of CMP loans originated, NGOs’ share last year went down to P239.8 million, but which still comprised a sizeable 49.5 percent of total loans granted under the program.

On the other hand, the National Housing Authority, the only government agency with CMP loan take outs last year, took the lead as the originator with the single-biggest loan performance of P89.2 million, comprising 18.4 percent CMP loans granted.

Moreover, as individual originators, the local government units of Pasig took second lead with P53.5 million CMP loans originated; followed by Marikina City, P45.6 million; and by Antipolo City, with P37.4 million.

Of the seven participating LGUs, Quezon City posted P8.3 million loans; Sta. Ana, Pampanga, P5.4 million; Cebu City, P4.9 million; and Caloocan City with P571,959, Salud said.