Community Mortgage Program

Community Mortgage Program is a socialized housing program of the Philippine Government. It provides for land acquisition by the occupying community association based on the concept of community ownership. It is being implemented through the Social Housing Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, and in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act 7279 otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act enacted on March 1992.

Seeing the need to expand its services deep in to the far flung areas of the country, The Philippine Senate passed Republic Act 7835 otherwise known as the Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Financing Act of December 1994 appropriating 12.78 billion peso fund for the implementation of the Community Mortgage Program.

In January 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Executive Order 272 creating the Social Housing Finance Corporation and authorizing the transfer of the Community Mortgage Program from the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation.

To effectively implement this program, the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), which maintains its headquarters in the Philippine financial district of Makati City, began enlisting the support of accredited originators to help facilitate the program by educating community associations, whose members are underprivileged sector of the Philippine society.

As of December 2008, a total of 1,686 projects were taken out under this program amounting to P7.7 billion with 203,752 underprivileged Filipinos benefiting from it.

Philippine housing czar Vice-President Noli “Kabayan” De Castro, who all heads the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), reiterated his call to other Philippine housing agencies to rally behind his effort to keep the housing sector moving.3rd PHILIPPINE HOUSING FINANCE FORUM (Posted Thursday, February 19, 2009) www.ovp.gov.ph/speeches