THE Cebu Provincial Government has urged the Pag-IBIG Fund to create special guidelines for the 93-1 transaction, addressing a hurdle where the Pag-IBIG Fund requires the transfer of lot titles to beneficiaries before releasing loan proceeds.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia met with over 5,800 occupants of 93-1 lots on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, to finalize the deadline for submitting their loan applications to Pag-IBIG.
Garcia brought attention to a problem encountered by homeowners of the Old Philippine Railway Residents Association (Oprra) in Barangay Kalunasan. The governor said the residents have had their loan applications approved by the Pag-IBIG Fund, but the funding cannot be released until individual lot titles are transferred to the beneficiaries.
Garcia said the Capitol-owned lot cannot be transferred directly to the beneficiaries without receiving the funding allotment, as this is against the law.
Concern
She added that before lot transfer can proceed, a sale has to be constituted first between the beneficiaries and the provincial government. In this case, the Capitol requires the release of the loan proceeds from the approved Pag-IBIG loan application.
“Unsaon mana nako pagpatitulo nga dili mana akoang yuta. Kung ako na ipatitulo nga wala pa mi kadawat sa bayad, ako nasad ma-Ombudsman,” Garcia said.
(How can I transfer these lot titles when it’s not even my property? If I transfer the ownership of these lots without receiving payment, I will be held accountable to the Ombudsman again.)
“Ang ako lang g’yud gikagul-an kay gitratar ta nga murag pribado nga lot owner...naa man kaha moy notice of approval. Wala pay nisulod sa panudlanan sa treasurer unya nga ibalhin na sa inyuhang pangalan unya ang naa sa titulo kay annotated to Pag-IBIG, dili sa Province of Cebu,” she added.
(My main concern is that we are being treated like private lot owners…No payment has been made to the treasurer yet, and now the title will be transferred to your name. The title is annotated to Pag-IBIG, not to the Province of Cebu.)
Unique situation
Cebu Provincial Legal Officer Donato Villa said the 93-1 transaction is a separate and unique situation, hence he urged the Pag-Ibig to make adjustments or treat the situation differently.
The housing loans through Pag-Ibig Fund are required for the 5,836 beneficiaries to purchase the lots they occupy from the Provincial Government, which owns the 93-1 lot, located in Cebu City.
Garcia said the provincial government has already sent out notices to vacate to some occupants of the 93-1 lots, who failed to comply with the requirement for the loan application.
These notices would then serve as the basis for ejectment cases in court.
During the meeting, 3,200 of the more than 5,000 potential beneficiaries submitted their requirement for the loan application or expressed their intention to purchase the lot from the provincial government.
The beneficiaries consist of 44 homeowner organizations currently occupying a combined 51 hectares of land spread across barangays Busay, Luz, Lahug, Mabolo, Apas, Lorega, Kasambagan, Capitol Site, Tejero, Kamputhaw and Kalunasan in Cebu City.
Under the transaction between the beneficiaries and Capitol, once the loan is approved, Pag-IBIG Fund will pay the Provincial Government for the properties sold at fair market value.
The beneficiaries will then become borrowers of Pag-IBIG Fund, with monthly amortizations over a maximum period of 30 years to own their occupied lots.
This scheme aligns with the Provincial Ordinance 93-1 passed in 1993, which allows the Provincial Government to sell their properties to the occupants at a fair market value. / EHP