But the NHMFC did very poorly in screening applicants and in collecting their dues. In the middle 1990s, the government agency was choking in toxic debts. It could not collect enough from the housing borrowers and at the same time, it could not pay the accruing balance for its loans.

This was also the time when a housing boom fueled massive construction of houses in the region that it was hard for government agencies to monitor their quality, observed Palma Gil.

Jose Macuto, NHMFC head of the Davao regional office, said the government agency has strictly set the formula for those who could afford to borrow. “Their amortization should not be higher than a third of their monthly income,” he said. “Actually, they had the capacity to pay but they refused to pay,” he said.

When Codizar received a foreclosure notice on his property, he has already spent over P100,000 ($2,097 at the current exchange rate of $1=P46.67) for the improvement of the house. At present, Codizar’s delinquency ran up to P887 thousand ($19,005), a hefty sum for someone getting only a meager P279 a day or P8,800 a month ($188), and whose household expenses with his two children and his wife could easily run up to P6,600 ($141) a month.

One of the four options that Balikatan offered was a “refinancing scheme” that allowed him to settle his account for a certain period of time based on the current appraised value of the property.

Now deluged by a flurry of demand letters and foreclosure orders, homeowners like Payao continue to demand their basic right as consumers. Bracing against the prospect of losing their homes, they formed the group Anti-Foreclosure Alliance, questioning the government’s sell out. “I would demand for quality of the house that I buy,” said Payao. “I will pay once they deliver. But what we have here are broken windows, rotting sewers in houses not even worth living in.” Davao Today / Posted by Bulatlat)

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