NHA offers anew P102 M loans for urban poor condos

The National Housing Authority (NHA) reiterated its offer of P102 million in loans for the relocation of urban poor settlers who live in Cebu City’s danger zones.
In yesterday’s City Council session, NHA Regional Director Gavino Figuracion said the city government can use P78 million to purchase a relocation site and P24 million to finance its improvements.
The Cebu City government plans to build two medium rise urban poor condominium units at the old Lorega cemetery for the settlers living near rivers and other areas vulnerable to flooding and landslide.
Barangay chairman Fritz Herrera asked the council to prioritize cemetery occupants for the condominium projects.
More than half of the 1.9 hectares of the cemetery lot will be set aside for the condominiums.
Figuracion said the NHA will have to recover the P78 million loan after a 20-year period with a six percent interest per annum.
But he said only half of the P24 million will be paid to the NHA.
The other half will be given as a subsidy to the city government.
The council has to authorize Mayor Michael Rama to enter into an agreement with NHA before the P102 million is released to the city.
Herrera said there are 400 to 500 families occupying shanties built on top of tombs at the old Lorega cemetery.
So far only 60 of them have been relocated to the Gawad Kalinga building built near the main entrance of the cemetery lot. “If we entertain (families) from outside unsaon nato ang existing (cemetery) occupants?” he told the council.
Collin Rosell, head of the Department for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), said the two four-storey urban poor condominiums will be built beside the GK building at the old Lorega cemetery.
The two buildings will have 174 units which the city intends to lease to danger zone occupants for P3,000 a month.  Each of the 2,880 sq. meter units is expected to cost P434,000.
But the selected beneficiaries will only receive raw units without any divisions and furnishings.
Rosell said their survey showed that urban poor families in the city pay P1,500 to 5,000 for bedroom space.
He said this meant the settlers could afford a P3,000 monthly lease at the urban poor condominium. Those who wanted to own their unit, he said, could avail of financing with Pag-ibig.
A P450,000 housing loan with Pag-ibig will only require an amortization of P2,900 per month.
“We can adopt a payment scheme of 30 years because the building has a lifetime of 50 years,” Collin told the council.
Unlike the city’s other socialized housing programs, they could forego the 10 percent equity charged to beneficiaries of the condominium project.
Councilor Margot Osmeña asked Rosell to furnish the council and the Technical Working Group (TWG) with a copy of the guidelines on the proposed condominiums for their study.