Gov't hikes budget for socialized housing to P7.62B in '08

By Doris Dumlao Inquirer MANILA, Philippines--The government has raised its budget for low-cost housing programs next year by 200 percent to P7.62 billion as part of its bid to boost social spending. In presentation materials distributed during a government economic briefing Wednesday, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said the allocation for the affordable housing sector for 2008 would rise substantially from the P2.5 billion budget for this year. Of the total amount allotted for next year, P5 billion will be used to subsidize the government's resettlement program, mainly for informal dwellers. No such allotment was made under the 2007 budget. Most of the country's informal dwellers are scattered in the National Capital Region, mostly consisting of people leaving rural areas in order to seek better livelihood opportunities. Another P900 million of next year's budget will fund the socialized housing programs of the state-owned Home Guaranty Corp. Low-cost housing units refer to those worth P300,000 to P3 million, HGC president Gonzalo Bongolan said. He said the national government's support for HGC was usually in the form of equity so that the agency could beef up its socialized housing guarantees. "By charter, our guarantees should be 70 percent in low-cost and socialized housing," Bongolan said. "With these guarantees, banks will be more confident in lending to socialized housing," he said. Another P900 million was allotted next year for the purchase of mortgages for securitization, or the process of pooling assets in order to raise funds backed by these assets. Finally, some P500 million was allotted for the government's community mortgage program.