Many legitimate recipients of the housing project have refused to pay their P200 monthly amortization, noting that the informal settlers belonging to Kadamay were allowed to occupy the vacant housing units without paying for those.
Engineer Romuel Alimboyao of the National Housing Authority (NHA) Central Luzon said the collection had been affected as legitimate recipients questioned how Kadamay members got their houses for free.
Kadamay took over 5,278 housing units in Pandi on March 8.
“Halos malaking porsyento (ang ibinagsak ng collection). May 50 percent ho (The collection went down by a huge margin. Around 50 percent),” Alimboyao told a group from the Senate led by Sen. Jose Victor Ejercito, chairman of the committee on housing.
Ejercito said the big drop in the collection of housing loan amortization was “very alarming” and “worrisome.”
“This incident sets precedent sa lahat ng mga pabahay (in all housing projects). More than 50 percent, that’s worrisome and very alarming,” said Ejercito, son of former President Joseph Estrada who is now mayor of Manila.
“E papano pa tayo magpapatayo ng mga bahay kung hindi natin mababawi (How will we be able to build homes if we won’t be able to claim them)?” he said.
The senator then asked NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr. what could be done to address the problem.
“In so far as the NHA is concerned, upon knowing that there’s an impact in our collection, which is a little over 50 percent, we already mobilized our own people,” Escalada said.
“We need to campaign massively in trying to tell everyone for the old accounts they have to pay. For new accounts that most of the Kadamay members are trying to allege, I think that’s very clear on the part of the NHA that there is no free housing. Everyone should pay because that’s an obligation on the part of the beneficiary,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon pointed out that there’s a law and enforcing it would mean removing the Kadamay members, who forcibly occupied the housing units in Pandi, Bulacan, intended for the military and police personnel.
“These are consequences that must be addressed by this administration because of that policy allowing Kadamay members to occupy. There is a need for housing and that’s a basic human right. The issue is tama ba itong nangyari at proseso?” he told the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
