Shelter agencies to double yearly housing units target

Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chairman Jejomar Binay yesterday said key shelter agencies have committed to double the production of housing units annually to narrow the country’s current housing gap.

“All the key housing agencies have pledged to build 370, 000 housing units annually which is double the current annual production of 150, 000 units,” the vice president said.

Binay recently led the HUDCC and six shelter agencies in a two-day planning workshop at the National Housing Agency (NHA) Operations Hall. “We are all hopeful that by our coordinated effort, and by the reforms we intend to put in place, we can achieve the housing targets of the national government,” he added.

In a statement, the six agencies said that they “accept the challenge to rationalize our respective agencies and transform them into a strong, cohesive, responsive, and energized production machinery to bring about institutional reforms and help produce affordable homes in newly established sustainable communities”

While historically enjoying only about 0.04 percent of the National Budget, Binay said that the Housing Sector is not disturbed by limited budget allocation.

The HUDCC chairman also cited the Pag-IBIG fund’s commitment to provide funding to 150,000 members annually with packages ranging from P100,000 to P3 million.

Binay said that in order to achieve this, the Pag-IBIG will generate additional funds not only from its members, but also through the sale of its non-performing assets.

For their part, both the Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC) and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) intend to mobilize funds for housing through securitization and guarranty covers. They aim to provide additional funds equivalent to about 100,000 housing units to be produced by the private sector.

The HGC committed to mobilize funds for the private sector by lessening the risks involved in home lending through its guarantees, and stressed that through its new products and services it can encourage the private sector to produce at least 50,000 housing units a year.

The NHMFC, on the other hand, will build on its past success in floating the 2009 Bahay Bonds that generated P2.6 billion for housing. NHMFC also plans to establish an Asset Management Corp. that will help banks and finance institutions manage their mortgages through account servicing. It will also accelerate its purchase of mortgage receivables from banks and financing institutions.

For its part, the National Housing Authority (NHA) has taken the challenge of providing 430,000 housing units for the next six years costing P50 billion or an annual production of 72,000 units requiring P8.3 billion annually. At the same time, the NHA has committed to revamp its approach to resettlement by providing bigger lots and housing units in environmentally-friendly communities to affected families at affordable terms.

The agency also plans to work closely with infrastructure agencies and with the private sector to develop its underutilized lands for more productive purposes.

The Socialized Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) also committed to provide almost 195,000 households security of tenure for the period 2011-2016 using its Community Mortgage Program (CMP). Moreover, the SHFC plans to work with the different local government units (LGUs) by providing them with funds that will address the problem of informal settlers in their towns and cities.

On the part of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), the agency vowed to be more efficient in the issuance of licenses to sell as well as be more vigilant about protecting homebuyers’ rights. In addition, the HLURB intends to work closely with LGUs in formulating their Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUP), with the inclusion of shelter planning for their constituents.

Tapping local governments to handle acquired properties will enable LGUs to offer these housing units at more affordable rates to low income workers and government workers in the locality.

With these plans in place, Vice President Binay then challenged the various agencies to work for ISO accreditation — ensuring good governance, transparency and good fiscal conditions within the housing sector. –Ma Jerrylyn Barcelo, Daily Tribune