APRIL 13, 2014

NR # 3435B

Solons bat for low-interest rate housing loans for homeless public school teachers
Public school teachers who are homeless may soon have the opportunity to have a house of their own through a housing loan with a fixed interest rate of five-percent (5%) per annum !his is "ust one of the features of the housing loan that #ep #ufus $ #odrigue% (&nd 'istrict( )agayan de *ro )ity) proposed under a bill which he authored together with his brother( #ep +aximo $ #odrigue% ,r (Party-list( -bante +indanao) .ouse $ill /012 see3s to institutionali%e the Public 4chool !eachers .ousing Program to provide housing loans for 5ualified public school teachers and which shall be administered by the 'epartment of 6ducation ('ep6d) -side from the low-interest rate( the housing loan is payable within a period of &0 years to 70 years( depending upon the age of the teachers at the time of approval of the housing loan application -nother special feature of the housing loan is payment of e5uity of not more than fivepercent (5%) of the total purchase price of the property !he bill calls for the creation of a .ousing 4ecretariat in every regional office of the 'ep6d( which shall have the mandate to issue loan application forms and collect necessary documents -nother function of the housing secretariat is to receive and process housing loan applications as well as transmit the necessary documents to the appropriate housing agencies( among others !o 5ualify for the housing program( a public school teacher should have permanent status8 rendered at least 5 years teaching service8 does not own any housing unit8 has not availed of any housing program8 that he9she is not more than 15 years of age at the time of the filing of loan application and must be insurable :nder the bill( financing schemes of the program include the purchase of lot and construction of a residential unit thereon8 purchase of brand new or old existing units( housing properties being disposed of through public bidding or negotiable sale Purchase of a fully developed lot within a residential area8 construction of a residential unit on a lot owned by the beneficiary and housing units offered at housing fairs by government financial institutions( ;<*s and private development corporations or entities also constitute the financing schemes under the program (70) mvip