Davao City — Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte recently announced that only President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo can ease the plight of beleaguered homeowners of socialized housing units whose homes are under the threat of foreclosures.
Duterte issued the statement before a jampacked crowd attended by 70 presidents of the different homeowners associations including the flagship group of the 13-man board of the Davao City Federation of Homeowners Associations (DCFHA) during the federation’s general assembly. The gathering was called specifically to address the threat of foreclosure of Balikatan Housing Financial Inc., a subsidiary of the Germany-based Deutsche Bank, which has now owns the mortgages of low-cost housing projects that have been delinquent in paying the amortizations.
Duterte said he has called cabinet secretary Silvestre Bello III to be the main conduit to Malacaang. Bello responded with calls for sobriety stating that there are no problems that have no solutions.
“We can get by through all these problems through negotiations,” Bello told the Philippine Information Agency, (PIA XI) prior to the start of the homeowners assembly.
Joseph Sison, president of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), which sold the housing mortgages to Balikatan, also spoke during assembly’s open forum. He told homeowners that due to limitations set by laws on housing, NHMFC cannot offer what Balikatan Housing Finance, Inc. (BHFI) and Bahay Financial Services (BFS) are currently offering as cash settlements to homeowners.
The Davao City Federation of Homeowners Associations (DCFHA) in its official statement added that “NHMFC, Balikatan Housing Finance and Bahay Financial Services stand to gain billions of pesos in the accounts that were sold at 90,000 pesos per account and are now being offered to homeowners for spot cash settlements at the new appraised value of 500,000 to more than one million pesos.”
DCFHA said “the corporate maneuvering undertaken by NHMFC in collaboration with the HUDCC, Balikatan Housing Finance Inc. (BHFI) and Bahay Financial Services (BFS) is highly immoral, illegal and oppressive.”
Mayor Duterte capped an hour-long question and answer forum of the general assembly with a promise saying his duty begins and ends in the protection of the interest of his people. (PIA-XI)
