City council calls on PGMA intervention in Davao housing crisis
by Romy Sabaldan
Davao City (19 November) -- The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Davao City has approved a resolution requesting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to intercede on behalf of the homeowners affected by the massive foreclosure proceedings by the Balikatan Housing Finance Incorporated.
The legislative body which approved the resolution during its regular session Tuesday also requested the President for a moratorium on the foreclosure activities in the midst of economic hardships and the worldwide financial crisis.
The resolution which was sponsored by second district councilor Danilo Dayanghirang called on Balikatan Housing Finance for an affordable payment scheme based on the transfer price or acquisition cost from the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) to Balikatan in the spirit of Article 1634 of the Civil Code of the Philippines.
The approved resolution was an offshoot of the lengthy discussions on the issue of foreclosures during a special session held Friday, last week and was participated in by homeowners on one side and on the other, the officials of Bahay Financial Services, a subsidiary of Balikatan and HLURB and NHMFC representatives.
The special session, only its fourth made by the city council this year, was conducted upon the request of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who had earlier raised the concern of a housing crisis following consultations with the officers and members of the board of the Davao City Federation of Homeowners Associations (DCFHA).
The homeowners involving some 233 associations registered with the Housing Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) and a total 541 homeowners associations endorsed by the Home Guaranty Corporation (HGIC-Davao) have raised the issue of alleged overpricing in the price negotiations of their accounts which are sold by NHMFC to Balikatan Housing Finance Incorporated. (PIA XI) [top]
