IN THE KNOW: Pag-IBIG Fund

Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—The Pag-IBIG Fund, which stands for Pagtutulungan sa Kinabukasan: Ikaw, Bangko, Industriya at Gobyerno, seeks to provide a national savings program and affordable shelter financing for Filipino workers.

Under Republic Act No. 9679, or the Home Development Fund Law of 2009, signed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in July 2009, Pag-IBIG membership is mandatory for all employees covered by the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System; uniformed members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Philippine National Police; overseas Filipino workers; and Filipinos employed by foreign-based employers, deployed locally or abroad.

The law also grants the Pag-IBIG Fund exemption from tax payments.

For employees with a monthly compensation of P1,500 and below, the contribution amounts to 1 percent of their income plus 2 percent covered by their employer. For employees with a monthly compensation of over P1,500, contribution amounts to 2 percent of their income plus 2 percent covered by their employer. These contributions are deducted from the gross income before the computation of income tax.

A member may withdraw his savings after 20 years of membership in the fund and after having made a total of 240 monthly contributions.

Circumstances like retirement, permanent departure from the country and permanent or total disability also allow a member to withdraw his savings.

Pag-IBIG also offers short-term loans to members who have made at least 24 monthly contributions.

Moreover, Pag-IBIG offers housing loans to members under its end-user financing program. Eligible members are those with at least 24 monthly contributions; not more than 65 years old at the time of application; and those who have passed satisfactory background/credit and employment/business checks conducted by the developer and the Pag-IBIG Fund.

Members availing themselves of a housing loan should also have a legal capacity to acquire real property; no outstanding Pag-IBIG housing loan; and have not availed himself or herself of a foreclosed or canceled Pag-IBIG loan.

Lawrence de Guzman, Inquirer Research

Published in Philippine Daily Inquirer September 9, 2010.

A glittering showcase in Iloilo

By DENNIS LADAW

The driveway is lined with majestic Royal Palm trees. (Photo by PRANZ KAENO BILLONES)

The house is located in an affluent neighborhood in Iloilo City, but it could look right at home in any of the ritzy enclaves of Beverly Hills, California. In particular, the Beverly Hills of yore, when legendary screen stars like Rudolf Valentino and Gloria Swanson were on the Hollywood A-list. This was a time when stars lived lavishly, partied decadently, and built mansions fit for an empress like Cleopatra.

Fittingly, the name of the ebullient and gracious lady of this Iloilo residence is Beverly Abordo. Her husband, Dr. Popoy Abordo, is a retired dentist who had a successful practice in San Francisco, California.  Both were born and raised in Iloilo but they met in the U.S, where Beverly worked as a nurse and as a professional singer. It can be said that the Tony Bennett hit song about hearts being left in San Francisco applies to them. Prior to moving back to Iloilo, the Abordos lived in a house at Hillsborough.

“We bought it from a businessman who had a pool built and had it shaped like a gun,” says Beverly while laughing. “The architecture was very modern and it seemed to have been inspired by the works of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright.”

Beverly says she and her husband love to collect things. They have an extensive collection of Guiseppe Armani porcelain dolls and countless life-size sculptures that vary in style and themes. “Unfortunately, the Hillsborough house looked too modern to house the collection we have. So when Popoy decided to retire and return to Iloilo permanently, we built a very different house.  We were through with modernism and we chose to build a Mediterranean-style house.”

Husband Popoy said that at first, they planned to sell the collection and the furniture to the Filipino movie producer who eventually bought the Hillsborough house. “But the offer he made was too low. The items were worth much more than that. The cost of shipping back the collection to Iloilo was high, but it was better than losing on our investment,” he said.

Moving back to Iloilo

Once the entire family was back in Iloilo, they shopped for property to build a house on. They found a huge lot that already had the shell of a big house standing on it. “The previous owner decided not to finish building it, and the place looked so perfect for us. It was providence!” says Beverly.

The unfinished house was already taking shape when construction was halted and when the Abordos bought it.  The style is Mediterranean, which was ideal for the things they were bringing in. The dramatic layout was already in place;  high ceilings that can accommodate such stunning chandeliers, spacious living areas with enough room for a baby grand piano, a spectacular staircase inspired by the two staircases at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, and yes, enough room to showcase the beloved collection.

The open grounds are spacious and fully grown mahogany trees fill the back lawn. Beverly asked the famed designer Shirley Sanders to landscape the front lawn and rear garden. Sanders lined the long driveway with majestic Royal Palms. She built a gazebo, a grotto, and a pond filled with beautiful Koi fish on the front lawn.  Popoy added a putting green near the gazebo.

The Abordos were tasked to put in the finishing touches to the house, which took more than two years to accomplish.  “Metal work for all the windows and the gazebo in the pool area took two years to finish,” says Popoy. “It’s a very intricate design and we wanted every window in the house to have it.”

The bulk of the furniture in the house was shipped in from the previous home in Hillsborough. The few items that were acquired in the Philippines include two wooden sculptures that depict an Egyptian man and woman. The statues stand on each side of a glittering Egyptian table displaying a collection of crystal jars and plates and a golden clock adorned with a bust of an Egyptian pharaoh.  The Egyptian theme of this corner of the living room is reminiscent of the epics of Cecil B. De Mille (“The Ten Commandments”). The corner aptly marks the entrance of the theater room, which comes equipped with lazy boy seats, deep red interiors, and a giant LCD screen. Popoy says the design of the mini theater was inspired by the look of the Iloilo movie house he used to go to as a teen-ager.

As it happens, the house is a showcase of various themes. The pool area features the Greek and Roman look, what with the white columns, and copies of Venus de Milo and David statues watching over the pool. The highlight of this area is the all-white gazebo that houses a small fountain. It doesn’t exactly have a roof, as it’s covered by the same kind of metal work that adorns the windows of the house.  The pool Popoy had built is almost identical to the pool they had in the San Francisco home.

On the second floor, a TV room near the staircase is furnished with Chinese furniture and accessories. The bedroom of the two daughters is unmistakably French. Beverly says that all her children are fastidious when it comes to keeping their respective rooms in order. “The girls also put in their own decorating ideas. But now, my 11 year-old has plans of redoing their room. She wants to adopt the ‘Moulin Rouge’ look!” she gasps.

Upkeep of the entire house can be painstaking. Just keeping the porcelain collection shiny is a tedious chore. The cleaning has to be constant and done under intense supervision; otherwise something priceless is bound to break. The household work required by this home rivals that of the mansion in the movie, “Remains of the Day.”

The Abordos love watching movies and their DVD collection is as extensive as any other item they collect. It’s perhaps the reason why the house they live in could well suit a Hollywood star. It’s all there in the house; the glamour, the dramatic settings, and even the tall Palms, which recalls the palms that line the boulevards of Beverly Hills. The difference lies in the quiet life the Abordos live.  To keep a little busy, Popoy established a store in downtown Iloilo called Iloilo Radioshack Electronics, which sells high-tech audio equipment.

“But we rarely go out. Even the children seldom go to the malls,” says Beverly. “We have everything we might need here. We’re happy with what we have in the house.”

Published in Manila Bulletin August 3, 2010

This countryside is sleepy no more

By CARLOMAR A. DAOANA

Asian contemporary is the design theme of the houses that will be built in Legazpi Highlands.

With the boost of seaside residential projects, there has been now an intense focus on the real estate potential of the countryside. At economic level, this is good for the community as the investment will energize local labor and the production of raw materials. The future inhabitants of the development will nonetheless purchase locals goods and services and in the process contribute to the town or city’s growth. Because of this, a new social dimension will be opened up, providing the community with an invigorating diversity.

One of the places that is blinking in the radar of real estate developers is Legazpi City. Suncore Development (637-4959) is looking at this well-known Bicol metropolis as the next place to create dream houses and communities. “I know Legazpi by heart,” says Donnie Pile, president of Excore Inc. (a partner company of Suncore Dev’t.). “Through its projects and efforts it will not only spur economy but will address the quality of living of the locals and alleviate their worries and inconveniences especially under extreme weather conditions.”

Certainly, one can’t talk about Legazpi City without mentioning the breathtaking view of Mt. Mayon (with its sometimes intemperate moods) and its being a magnet of torrential storms. Suncore took note of this and more. The company feels that if it wants to be successful in this venture, it should be able to “meet the needs of Legazpi through innovative concepts, personalized service, and residential communities that are governed by a unique philosophy of creating physical environments that are in perfect harmony with its surroundings.” 

Suncore’s real estate foray in the province is the Legazpi Highlands envisioned to give a new and dignified face to the city. The development sprawls on about 12 hectares of the highland areas of Legazpi, minutes away from the city’s busy district. The residence will feature the amenities in a mid-range subdivision: clubhouse, swimming pool, parks and playgrounds, basketball courts, and other amenities. The only thing that sets it apart is the million-peso view of the Mayon volcano.

“Legazpi Highlands provides and guarantees Bicolanos, vacationers and tourist investors an expedient and luxurious way of living in the midst of mesmerizing scenery over viewing the shore, towns, Sleeping Lion and at its foot Embarcadero,”  Pile says of the property. “This development removes the fear of being stricken with neither flooding nor volcanic eruption because it is in the high lands.”

As the development will have a ripple effect, Pile envisions that Legazpi City will further attract investment not only in terms of real estate but as well as commercial and retail opportunities as well. “With elegant Asian contemporary designs and breathtaking views of the sea, Mayon Volcano and the whole metropolis, Legazpi Highlands will further enhance the district by becoming a cherished residence of the Bicol Regions’s well-to-do,” Pile concludes.

Published in Manila Bulletin August 6, 2010

Wiping out RP's housing backlog

By Mary Ann Ll. Reyes
The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - Emphasizing the need to create a Department of Housing, the founder and chairman emeritus of one of the country’s most influential trade organizations has also urged whoever will be named government housing czar to work closely with the private sector and to have a firm resolve to address the country’s burgeoning housing problem.

In an interview with The STAR, lawyer Manuel Serrano of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations (CREBA) emphasized that the mistake of all previous administrations is that there has been no firm decision to really address the housing dilemma. “And this is the reason why government does not have the funds to solve the housing backlog, especially mass housing,” he said.

Serrano, who is also the founder and chairman of Business Against Graft and Corruption (BAGCOR) and the Subdivision Owners Association of the Philippines (now Social Housing Developers Association or SHDA), said the country currently has a housing shortage of about seven million units.

“There should be around 500,000 units being built every year but what is actually being built is just 30,000 per year. If we consider that the number of households is increasing by about 250,000 to 280,000 families each year, not only are we not addressing the annual requirement, we are also not solving the backlog which is growing and growing,” he pointed out.

Widely acknowledged as the real estate guru given his 48 years experience in all aspects of real estate (starting with his first project in 1962 – Better Living Subdivision in Parañaque), Serrano noted that government may not realize it but the real estate sector is the major economic pump-primer and could take the country out of the economic rut it is currently immersed in.

Socialized home developers air crucial issues

By Charles E. Buban
Philippine Daily Inquirer

WE MAY NOT realize it, but improving the standard of living here in the Philippines may depend on one sector that as of now receives meager support from both the government and the private sector.

“Indeed, socialized housing is one sector that seldom gets attention despite the fact that its revitalization may alleviate the condition of around 30 million Filipinos who are currently living near or below the poverty line,” notes Linda Tan, president of the Organization of Socialized Housing Developers of the Philippines.

Tan admits that even for the country’s top property developers, little is devoted to socialized housing considering the many challenges involved, seeing little return on their investment is just one of them.

“This is why, in 1995, small property developers and those with substantial investment in socialized and low-cost housing projects formed the OSHDP. Aside from strengthening our collective voice, our organization believes someone must take up the cudgels for the sector otherwise a third of Filipinos would forever remain renting their homes or living as squatters and in subhuman conditions,” says Jefferson Bongat, OSHDP vice president.

According to Bongat for this year, OSHDP has several issues it would like to tackle with the housing authorities and lending institutions:

1 More sources of funds for those availing socialized housing units. “Currently, the only reliable source of loan is the state-administered Home Development Mutual Fund, also known as Pag-Ibig Fund. In fact, it offers the lowest interest rates in the market: 6 percent for loans up to P400,000 and 7 percent for loans above P400,000 to P750,000,” says Sonny Ducay, OSHDP director and PRO.

This means borrowers in the P400,000 housing loan package will only have to shoulder a monthly amortization, for 30 years, of P2,398.

According to Ducay, this monthly payment may already be manageable for a family earning about P7,400 a month.

“It was also great that Pag-Ibig Fund has increased its total budget for its housing loan programs in 2009 to P84.5 billion in order to cater to the strong demand for low-cost housing. While we expect a similar increase in allocation this year, we also would like banks to formulate a similar package that would allow our borrowers to avail a more accommodating housing loan package. These families also deserve to be trusted,” Ducay says.

2 Exemption from “cash advance” that utility providers ask developers of socialized housing projects. One of the major challenges a developer has to deal with these days is the need to shell out additional money to initially shoulder the cost of installing the needed facilities before service could be provided. For example, Meralco would require “cash advance” for the posts, cables and transformers before electricity will be provided.

The same goes with water providers who require a similar arrangement before water could start to flow into the houses.

3 Price stability of building materials. Ducay says the continuously rising price of raw materials—cement, steel, etc.—affect property developers, big or small.

“But the impact is much more pronounced in small developers whose budget is just enough for the project,” Tan says.

To remedy this, OSHDP is now talking to its members for the possibility of collating their requirements for the year so OSHDP could purchase materials in bulk to receive discounts.

4 Providing incentive for materials suppliers including hardware. OSHDP believes socialized housing projects should be regarded differently.

According to Bongat, the group will formulate a proposal to the Board of Investments and the Department of Finance that would provide a reward system like tax incentives to suppliers who would give much lower or discounted price of their products.

5 Using solar-powered street lights. Bongat reports that OSHDP has approached a China-based firm specializing in inexpensive solar-powered products including solar street lights.

“It’s not only just love of the environment. If we could put up solar-powered street lights on our socialized housing projects, then the poor families that will live there will have less bill to worry about. In fact, we could eventually build a self sustaining community that will rely less on the power grid,” Bongat says.

6 Centralizing land allocation for housing development. While there are advantages of assigning the job of identification and allocation of land for housing development in the hands of local government units, OSHDP believes that not all local zoning officers are knowledgeable enough to perform their mandate.

“It’s a highly technical task that if you are not qualified, there is a huge chance of ruining your community’s zoning. It’s no wonder that we have members who complain about being given a property that is beside a cemetery, which is of course, not very attractive if you are selling your project to a prospective homebuyer,” Ducay explains.

He reports that together with other organizations involved in the housing sector, OSHDP has been pushing for a more streamlined, consolidated and unified activity.

“This will result in less number but more qualified people to deal with not to mention effective and efficient delivery of service,” Ducay says.