President Arroyo on Monday signed Republic Act 9507, or the Housing Loan Restructuring Law, which aims to help low-income families keep their homes despite difficulties in paying for amortizations.

The law, formally titled "An Act to Establish a Socialized and Low-Cost Housing Loan Restructuring and Condonation Program, Providing Mechanisms Therefore and for other Purposes," establishes a program where housing loan borrowers who have at least three months worth of unpaid monthly amortizations with government financial institutions (GFIs) and housing agencies may apply for loan restructuring and condonation.

The law covers housing loan accounts with institutions like the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, Pag-IBIG Fund, National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, Social Housing Finance Corporation, Home Guaranty Corporation and National Housing Authority, with principal loan amounts not exceeding P2.5 million. 

The program will be implemented for 18 months from the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), but the governing boards of the respective institutions are given the authority to continue the program beyond that period. 

An inter-agency committee composed of the concerned GFIs and agencies and headed by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) is tasked to promulgate the IRR within 60 days from the signing of the law.

Vice-President De Castro, chairman of the HUDCC, committed to issue the IRR not later than end November this year.

Mrs. Arroyo lauded the timeliness of the law for the nearly 370,000 families with delinquent loans, especially during this time of global economic crisis.

Meanwhile, De Castro assured that the law will not threaten the financial stability of the concerned institutions and agencies as there are specific provisions that will safeguard the program from abuse. 

He also emphasized that the law empowers the governing boards of the lending institutions to give reasonable discounts on loan interest as an incentive to borrowers who pay their amortizations on time.