Help reform government housing program, beneficiaries urged

Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council chairman Noli de Castro yesterday urged housing beneficiaries to participate and help reform the government’s housing program.

De Castro cited the beneficiaries’ role in housing sector reforms after receiving a list of their issues and concerns in a Davao City summit organized by homeowners’ associations in the region.

The event, dubbed the Homeowners Summit, was the first of its kind in Mindanao and organized by the Regional Federation of Homeowners’ Associations Inc. (REFEDHOAI), made up of shelter-based community associations in Region 11.

REFEDHOAI president Luzviminda Gacer formally turned over to De Castro the list of issues, concerns and recommendations of the homeowners’ associations regarding the implementation of the government housing program.

The list covered subjects such as issues with the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the proposed legislation on housing loan restructuring and condonation, the Bahay Financing Services/Balikatan which took over about 10,000 bad loans from the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., concerns with the registry of deeds and Bureau of Internal Revenue, and a specific housing program for public school teachers.

De Castro assured the beneficiaries that their issues and concerns would be reviewed to improve the government housing program.

Citing the CMP, he explained how the housing sector has gained from the participation and inputs of the beneficiaries themselves.

“Many reforms in the CMP have come from the community associations, such as the creation of the Social Housing Finance Corp. and the implementation of the localized CMP,” De Castro said.

The Vice President also awarded certificates of lot ownership to 1,286 beneficiaries of various projects in Davao City under the Asset Reform Program, CMP, and the Lot Acquisition Program of the National Housing Authority. – Pia Lee-Brago