President Benigno S. Aquino III graces the Presentation of Estero de San Miguel Micro Medium-Rise Building (mMRB) Model Unit at the Claro M. Recto High School Auditorium in Barangay 412, Zone 42, Legarda Street, Sampaloc, Manila City on Wednesday (February 19, 2014). The Estero de San Miguel Project is in line with the program goal of providing safe, affordable, decent and humane relocation in accordance with the Relocation Action Plan (RAP) through the People’s Plan mechanism and process for on-site, near-city relocation of affected ISFs in accordance with People’s Plan that contains shelter solutions and finance scheme development, validated and accepted by the ISFs themselves. The MRB model unit started construction in November 2013 and was completed in January 2014. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Public school teachers who are “homeless” may soon have the opportunity to have a house of their own through a housing loan with a fixed interest rate of five percent per annum.
This is just one of the features of the housing loan that Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City) proposed under a bill which he authored together with his brother, Rep. Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. (Party-list, Abante Mindanao).
House Bill 4061 seeks to institutionalize the Public School Teachers Housing Program to provide housing loans for qualified public school teachers and which shall be administered by the Department of Education (DepEd).
Aside from the low-interest rate, the housing loan is payable within a period of 20 years to 30 years, depending upon the age of the teachers at the time of approval of the housing loan application.
Another special feature of the housing loan is payment of equity of not more than five percent of the total purchase price of the property.
The bill calls for the creation of a Housing Secretariat in every regional office of the DepEd, which shall have the mandate to issue loan application forms and collect necessary documents.
Another function of the housing secretariat is to receive and process housing loan applications as well as transmit the necessary documents to the appropriate housing agencies, among others.
To qualify for the housing program, a public school teacher should have permanent status; rendered at least 5 years teaching service; does not own any housing unit; has not availed of any housing program; that he/she is not more than 65 years of age at the time of the filing of loan application and must be insurable.
Under the bill, financing schemes of the program include the purchase of lot and construction of a residential unit thereon; purchase of brand new or old existing units, housing properties being disposed of through public bidding or negotiable sale.
Purchase of a fully developed lot within a residential area; construction of a residential unit on a lot owned by the beneficiary and housing units offered at housing fairs by government financial institutions, NGOs and private development corporations or entities also constitute the financing schemes under the program. (MNS)