Cebu City dad to developers: Be more lenient in payment plans during pandemic

Among the property investments, hubs likely to anchor a recovery next year are Cebu and Davao

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Raul Alcoseba is appealing to developers to be more lenient in collecting payments for properties bought during the pandemic.

The councilor filed a resolution that was approved by the City Council urging the developers to give more leniency to all unit buyers considering the pandemic and the harsh financial effect it has caused to the buyers.

“My office received reports from concerned housing or condominium unit buyers on their developers forfeiting payments made by buyers who have not settled payments according to their contracts. A common reason for the buyers of non-payment is due to the loss of jobs and source of income due to the pandemic,” said Alcoseba. 

The councilor added many people tried to pay what they can just to keep their rights over housing or condominium units, but their developers are not accepting their payments for the reason that these need re-computation due to default of payments.

For Alcoseba, the developers should be more understanding during these difficult times and this should be their contribution to the community as well.

“Although a contract is a binding agreement that should be followed by the parties but in these times of uncertainties the people behind the contract must also listen and bend towards understanding and helping those worse hit by the pandemic,” added the councilor.

In the resolution,  the City Council urges all developers in Cebu City to be more understanding to their buyers and be more considerate to buyers who try to keep their rights over the supposed homes or units.

Furthermore, the council is also requesting the Office of the President of the Philippines to find ways to solve this growing concerns of housing and condominium unit buyers who are involuntarily forfeiting their homes or units due to the pandemic. 

The councilor said that stakeholders in the city should help each survive the economic devastation of the pandemic even if it’s only a deferred payment at a time.   /rcg