ANGELES CITY – A prominent real estate developer yesterday dug up “an unusually timed” memorandum issued by the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), better known as the Pag-Ibig Fund that allegedly effectively blocked some 70 percent of potential housing applicants from immediate access to low-cost housing.
In a press conference here, obviously irate Delfin Lee, owner and president of Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp. which has invested billions of pesos in low cost housing in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, distributed copies of the memorandum signed by HDMF executive officer Jaime Fabiana.
The memorandum was dated last March 10 but was to be effected last July 1, the day after Pres. Aquino assumed the presidency. “We were surprised because the memo was issued to us even later,” Lee said.
The memorandum amended HDMF Circular No. 247 issued only last February by preventing non-members of Pag-Ibig Fund from immediately obtaining housing loans by paying in lump sum membership dues for one year to entitle them to both immediate membership and loans.
The memorandum now requires that only those who have been Pag-Ibig members for at least 12 months can avail themselves of such loans. “This new requirement impacts heavily on families of overseas Filipino workers and is likely to douse the interest of many who abhor red tape,” Lee said.
He estimated that about 70 percent of low-cost housing clients of real estate developers in the country will be affected by the new policy.
Lee noted that the default rate in the payment of housing amortizations under the Pag-Ibig Fund is only five percent.
“This is quite low and reflects there is no basis for fear in opening up on low cost housing loans,” he noted.
Lee also noted that real estate developers dealing with HDMF assume payment guarantees for two years on top of a buy-back scheme that can be resorted to in case the case the housing beneficiary defaults on his amortizations.
These measures, he said, have decreased default payment rates from a high of 85 percent to only five percent.
Lee lamented that the new policy was issued after HDMF raised the contribution of members from P100 to P300 monthly and increasing their salaries way beyond the scope of the Salary Standardization Law.
“Those who used to receive P50,000 in monthly salary now get as much as P300,000,” he said.
Lee said that in his case, he even volunteered a five-year guarantee in his two low-cost flagship projects called Xevera in Bacolor and Mabalacat, Pampanga which have a complete package of residential, commercial and public establishments in pedestrian-based communities, plus free schooling.
“Officials at Pag-Ibig have been there too long so that they have become lazy and have lost the vision to serve,” Lee said, noting statistics from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) showing that the country has a backlog of 3.7 million houses for Filipino families.
Lee, who had been known to be a supporter of former Vice Pres. Noli de Castro’s housing programs during the Arroyo administration, said that last year, the government was able to construct only 180,000 low cost houses.
“With our population increasing, we have to construct no less than 250,000 units per year for the next 10 years to level up with the backlog,” he said, adding that under the restrictive requirement policies now again being enforced by HDMF officials, this can not be done
Lee noted that HDMF has about P214 billion in assets that it is mandated by law to use 70 percent of the funds for low-cost housing projects.
On the other hand, real estate developers are also mandated to devote 20 percent of their projects for “socialized housing” which offers units costing no more than P400,000.
He criticized HDMF officials as “lazy”. “They put the money in treasury bills and avoid innovative and more challenging work that can fulfill the mission to provide low cost housing to Filipinos,” he said.
Lee also lashed at the way HDMF allocate funding for housing each year. “They compute the interest the HDMF can earn from housing loans per year and this is what they also make available for loans. This is anomalous since the policy takes into account only the interest, regardless of the principal contribution of its members,” he lamented.
“They impose restrictive requirements for housing loans when they notice the demand going up, then relax the requirements when the demand falls. They have lost vision of their mission. They just want to relax and not take any risk even when the risk is low. I know this because I have been in housing that long,” Lee said.
Lee appealed to the Aquino administration to replace current HDMF officials and replace them with persons “who are progressive minded and service-oriented”. He stressed, however, that he himself was not interested in any government post.
“This is the most opportune time to build low-cost housing as interest rates are low. We must grab the opportunity,” he said.
Lee said “it’s not enough to build recreational facilities in a plush ambience in a low cost housing project.”
“People who belong to the working class also need time to be with their families so we also built everything they need such as offices, transport terminal, and even a school within walking distance,” he added.
In a press conference here, obviously irate Delfin Lee, owner and president of Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp. which has invested billions of pesos in low cost housing in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, distributed copies of the memorandum signed by HDMF executive officer Jaime Fabiana.
The memorandum was dated last March 10 but was to be effected last July 1, the day after Pres. Aquino assumed the presidency. “We were surprised because the memo was issued to us even later,” Lee said.
The memorandum amended HDMF Circular No. 247 issued only last February by preventing non-members of Pag-Ibig Fund from immediately obtaining housing loans by paying in lump sum membership dues for one year to entitle them to both immediate membership and loans.
The memorandum now requires that only those who have been Pag-Ibig members for at least 12 months can avail themselves of such loans. “This new requirement impacts heavily on families of overseas Filipino workers and is likely to douse the interest of many who abhor red tape,” Lee said.
He estimated that about 70 percent of low-cost housing clients of real estate developers in the country will be affected by the new policy.
Lee noted that the default rate in the payment of housing amortizations under the Pag-Ibig Fund is only five percent.
“This is quite low and reflects there is no basis for fear in opening up on low cost housing loans,” he noted.
Lee also noted that real estate developers dealing with HDMF assume payment guarantees for two years on top of a buy-back scheme that can be resorted to in case the case the housing beneficiary defaults on his amortizations.
These measures, he said, have decreased default payment rates from a high of 85 percent to only five percent.
Lee lamented that the new policy was issued after HDMF raised the contribution of members from P100 to P300 monthly and increasing their salaries way beyond the scope of the Salary Standardization Law.
“Those who used to receive P50,000 in monthly salary now get as much as P300,000,” he said.
Lee said that in his case, he even volunteered a five-year guarantee in his two low-cost flagship projects called Xevera in Bacolor and Mabalacat, Pampanga which have a complete package of residential, commercial and public establishments in pedestrian-based communities, plus free schooling.
“Officials at Pag-Ibig have been there too long so that they have become lazy and have lost the vision to serve,” Lee said, noting statistics from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) showing that the country has a backlog of 3.7 million houses for Filipino families.
Lee, who had been known to be a supporter of former Vice Pres. Noli de Castro’s housing programs during the Arroyo administration, said that last year, the government was able to construct only 180,000 low cost houses.
“With our population increasing, we have to construct no less than 250,000 units per year for the next 10 years to level up with the backlog,” he said, adding that under the restrictive requirement policies now again being enforced by HDMF officials, this can not be done
Lee noted that HDMF has about P214 billion in assets that it is mandated by law to use 70 percent of the funds for low-cost housing projects.
On the other hand, real estate developers are also mandated to devote 20 percent of their projects for “socialized housing” which offers units costing no more than P400,000.
He criticized HDMF officials as “lazy”. “They put the money in treasury bills and avoid innovative and more challenging work that can fulfill the mission to provide low cost housing to Filipinos,” he said.
Lee also lashed at the way HDMF allocate funding for housing each year. “They compute the interest the HDMF can earn from housing loans per year and this is what they also make available for loans. This is anomalous since the policy takes into account only the interest, regardless of the principal contribution of its members,” he lamented.
“They impose restrictive requirements for housing loans when they notice the demand going up, then relax the requirements when the demand falls. They have lost vision of their mission. They just want to relax and not take any risk even when the risk is low. I know this because I have been in housing that long,” Lee said.
Lee appealed to the Aquino administration to replace current HDMF officials and replace them with persons “who are progressive minded and service-oriented”. He stressed, however, that he himself was not interested in any government post.
“This is the most opportune time to build low-cost housing as interest rates are low. We must grab the opportunity,” he said.
Lee said “it’s not enough to build recreational facilities in a plush ambience in a low cost housing project.”
“People who belong to the working class also need time to be with their families so we also built everything they need such as offices, transport terminal, and even a school within walking distance,” he added.
