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By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter
Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Jinggoy Estrada and
Rodolfo Biazon are pressing for a restructuring of socialized and
low-cost housing loans to benefit homeowners who had defaulted in
the payment of their monthly amortization, but whose default was not
of their own doing.
Zubiri, chairman of the Senate Committee on
Housing and Urban Development, said Senate Bill 1987 which he
co-authored with Estrada and Biazon provides that all socialized and
low-cost housing loans secured from agencies involved in the
National Shelter Program with at least six months of unpaid
amortization will be covered by the restructuring program.
Zubiri’s committee has already reported out
this bill after some public hearings, and it will be up for
sponsorship when the Senate resumes its regular session.
He recalled that a similar legislation, Republic
Act 8501, was enacted in 1998 to benefit 181,349 homeowners who had
failed to pay their loans because of the Asian financial crisis in
1998.
“Out of the 181,349 defaulting accounts, only
19,612 had availed of the program. Of those who availed of the
program, about 40 percent are again in default,” Zubiri said,
while pointing out that many had not yet fully recovered from the
1997 crisis.
Estrada said that some of these mortgages had
been foreclosed and the others are facing fore-closure proceedings.
“This situation is most alarming as while the
government and the private sector are launching new housing
projects, the present beneficiaries of the National Shelter Program
are on the verge of being thrown out of their homes after a short
tenure,” he lamented.
The restructuring program covers even those who
had taken advantage of R.A. 8501. The bill condones all penalties
and surcharges upon approval of the restructuring application. A
reasonable portion of the interest on the housing loan shall also be
condoned, the percentage to be determined by the respective
boards of the government financing institutions and housing agencies
involved.
In addition, all accrued interests will be
treated as non-interest bearing principal to be equally repaid
during the term of the restructured loan.
The term of a housing loan account being applied
for restructuring may be extended for a period longer than its
original term to lower the amount of the monthly amortization.
However, the extension should not exceed the difference between the
borrower’s age at the time of application and age 65.
Zubiri said the loan-restructuring program
would last for three years. He is hopeful that at the end of the
program, the country’s economic condition would have greatly
improved.
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