CREBA urges passage of comprehensive home financing bill

The Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations, Inc. (CREBA), the country’s largest organization of real estate and housing industry players, is once again urging the passage of a bill that will create a Comprehensive Home Financing Program (CHFP) to make all income-earning Filipinos entitled to low-interest, long-term housing loans, even if they are not members of the Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), or the Pag-lBIG Fund.

Charlie A. V. Gorayeb, CREBA national chairman, said they will reiterate this during the 27th national convention slated at the Thunderbird Resort in La Union from October 17-20 this year.

CHFP is designed exclusively for home loan borrowers with no component for development financing. This is to ensure that the use of funds strictly for shelter acquisition by the homeless, estimated by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to be at least 6.57 million families nationwide as of 2017.

As proposed by CREBA, the resulting surge in housing beneficiaries would be covered by an initial 1350-billion fund sourced in the form of investment in bonds by the SSS at 15 billion; GSIS at 125 billion; a minimum of 170 billion up to a maximum of 70 percent of Pag-IBIG Fund’s total investible funds for housing; 1200 billion from the unused or residual agri-agra funds of banks; plus another 150 billion from government’s annual budget, all with mandatory guaranty cover from the Home Guaranty Corporation.

If passed into law, the proposed bill thus amends Republic Act 7835 or the Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Finance Act (CISFA) of 1994.

These fund sources, according to CREBA national president Noel Toti M. Cariño, have already been identified by various existing laws and need only to be integrated for effective administration to socialized and economic housing beneficiaries.

Payable in at least 30 or more years, CHFP loans for residential units in subdivisions or medium-rise condominium buildings shall be 11.5 million and below at 3 percent fixed interest rate for socialized housing, and above 11.5 million up to 13,199,200 at 4 percent for economic housing.

All income-earning citizens who qualify as beneficiaries under the Urban Development and Housing Act and who have not acquired housing assistance from any government institution shall be eligible for home loans through the CHFP.