WHEREAS,
the Government, in pursuit of the Constitutional mandates on the
promotion of public welfare through ample social services, as well as
its humanist commitment to the interests of the working groups, in
relation particularly to their need for decent shelter, has established
the Home Development Mutual Fund, under Presidential Decree No. 1530, a
system of employee-employer contributions for housing purposes; and
WHEREAS, there is need to strengthen the Home Development Mutual Fund
and make it more effective both as a savings generation and
home-building program for the gainfully-employed members of the
Philippine society;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
order and decree the following:cralaw:red
Section 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the
"Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 1980."
Section 2. Policy. — It is the policy of the Republic
of the Philippines to motivate the employed and other earning groups to
better plan and provide for their housing needs by membership in an
integrated, nationwide savings systems established for the said
purposes, with contributory support of the employers, in the spirit of
social justice and the pursuit of national development.
Section 3. Fund System. — To carry out the purposes
of this Act, there is hereby created the Home Development Mutual Fund
of 1980, also referred to herein as the Fund, a provident savings
system for employees, private and public, who shall be the members,
supported by matching contributions of their respective employers, with
housing as the primary investment. The system may cover self-employed
and other working groups, as herein provided.
The Fund shall be a body corporate, with principal office in
Metro Manila, and shall replace the Home Development Mutual Fund
established under Presidential Decree No. 1530. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 4. Fund Coverage. — Coverage of the Fund
shall be mandatory upon all employees covered by the Social Security
System and the Government Service Insurance System, and their
respective employers.
Such coverage may be extended to other working groups, with or without
employer contributions, as may be determined by the Board of Trustees.
Section 5. Fund Generation. — The Fund shall be
generated by the savings that the covered employees shall contribute
for the purpose every month, and the equal amounts that the employers
shall contribute, based on the following graduated percentages of basic
monthly pay, to wit:cralaw:red
One per cent (1%) 1981;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Two per cent (2%) in 1982; and
Three per cent (3%) in 1983 onward;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
provided, however, that for the purpose of this Act, "basic monthly
pay" shall mean not more than P3,000.00.
Section 6. Membership Term. — Membership in the Fund
shall be for a period of twenty (20) years, except when earlier
terminated by reason of retirement, disability, insanity, death,
departure from the country or other, causes as may be provided for by
the Board of Trustees. Resignation lay-off or suspension from
employment may not necessarily constitute a ground for membership
termination, except for suspension of contributions.
Section 7. Waiver or Suspension of Coverage. —
Coverage of the Fund and/or the payment of monthly contribution to the
same may be rules and resolutions of the Board of Trustees be waived or
suspended by reasons of nature of employment, condition of business,
ability to make contributions and other reasonable considerations.
Section 8. Provident Character. — The Fund shall be
private in character, owned wholly by the members, administered in
trust and applied exclusively for their benefit. All the personal and
employer contributions shall be fully credited to each member,
accounted for individually and transferable in case of change of
employment. They shall earn dividends as may be provided for in the
implementing rules. The said amounts shall constitute the provident
fund of each member, to be paid to him, his estate or beneficiaries
upon termination of membership, or from which peripheral benefits for
the member may be drawn.
Section 9. Housing Features. — A member of good
standing shall be eligible to apply for a housing loan, with such terms
as may be authorized by the Board of Trustees, taking into account
ability to pay. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 10. Corporate Powers. — The Fund shall have
the powers and functions specified in this Act and the usual corporate
powers:cralaw:red
(a) To make policies and guidelines, as well as
adopt, amend and rescind such rules and regulations as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions and purposes of this Act;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) To submit annually to the President of the
Philippines not later than March 15, and make available to the members
of public report covering its activities in the implementation of this
Act, as well as the state of the Fund during the preceding year,
including information and recommendations for the development and
improvement of the Fund;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) To invest its fund, directly or indirectly, in
accordance with this Act; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(d) To acquire, utilize, or dispose of, in any manner
recognized by law, real or personal properties to carry out the
purposes of this Act;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(e) To set up its own accounting and computer
systems; to conduct continuing actuarial and statistical studies and
valuations to determine the financial viability of the Fund and its
projects; to require reports, compilations and analysis of statistical
and economic data, as well as make such other studies and surveys as
may be needed for the proper administration and development of the Fund;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(f) To have the power of succession; to sue and be
sued; to adopt and use a corporate seal;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(g) To enter into and carry out contracts of every
kind and description with any person, firm or association or
corporation, domestic or foreign;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(h) To borrow funds from any source, private or
government, foreign or domestic;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(i) To invest, own or otherwise participate in equity
in any establishment, firm or entity; to form, organize, invest in or
establish and maintain a subsidiary or subsidiaries in relation to any
of its purposes;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(j) To exercise such powers and perform such acts as
may be necessary, useful, incidental or auxiliary to carry out the
provisions of this Act. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 11. Board of Trustees. — The power and
functions of the Fund shall be exercised by a Board of Trustees
composed of the Minister of Human Settlements as Chairman, the Minister
of Finance as Vice-Chairman, the Minister of the Budget, the Minister
of Labor, the Minister of Industry, the Chief Executive Officer of the
Fund, two representatives of private employees, two representatives of
private employers, and one representative of government employees, as
members.
The four private sector representatives shall each be appointed by the
President of the Philippines for a term of two years, provided,
however, that of the first set to be appointed, one representative of
the employees and one representative of the employers shall have a term
of only one year. The representative of the government employees shall
be appointed by the President of the Philippines for a term of two
years.
Until the appointment of another person by the President of the
Philippines upon the recommendation of the Board of Trustees, the
President of the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation shall be
the Chief Executive Officer of the Fund.
Section 12. Powers of the Board. — The Board shall
have the following powers:cralaw:red
(a) To formulate policies, rules and regulations to
carry out effectively the functions of the Fund under this Act;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) To direct the operations and administration of
the Fund;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) To authorize expenditures of the Fund in the
interest of effective administration and operations; to adopt from time
to time the budgets for said purposes; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(d) To approve appointments of personnel; and
(e) To exercise such powers as may be necessary to
carry out into effect the powers and accomplish the purposes for which
the Fund is established.
Section 13. Rule-Making Power. — The Board of
Trustees is hereby authorized to make and change needful rules and
regulations, which shall be published in accordance with law or at
least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines, to
provide for, but not limited to the following matters:cralaw:red
(a) The effective administration, custody,
development, utilization and disposition of the Fund or parts thereof,
including payment of amounts credited to members or to their
beneficiaries or estates;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) Extension of Fund coverage to other working
groups, and waiver or suspension of coverage or its enforcement for
reasons herein stated; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(c) Grounds for and effects of termination of
membership other than by completion of term;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(d) Fund earnings and their distribution, investment
and/or plowing back for the exclusive benefit of the members;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(e) Interim disbursements of accumulated values to
members of ameliorative and similar purposes;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(f) Housing and other loan assistance programs for
members;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(g) Adjudication and settlement of claims and
disputes and the procedures for the same on any matters involving the
interests of members in the Fund; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(h) Optimize the effectiveness of the initial
coverage drive through phased implementation based on reasonable
classifications of employers and/or employee groups; and
(i) Other matters that, by express or implied
provisions of this Act, shall require implementation by appropriate
policies, rules and regulations.
Section 14. Powers and Duties of Chief Executive
Officer. — The Chief Executive Officer of the Fund shall execute and
administer the policies and resolutions approved by the Board of
Trustees, prepare its agenda and direct and supervise the operations
and management of the Fund. Subject to the approval of the Board, said
officer shall appoint and assign the personnel of the Fund, remove,
suspend or otherwise discipline them for cause and prescribe their
duties and qualifications.
Section 15. Money Investments. — All moneys of the
Fund, as are not needed to meet current administrative and operational
requirements, shall be invested with due and prudent regard for its
safety, growth and liquidity needs.
Section 16. Tax and Guarantee Benefits. —
Notwithstanding any provisions of existing law, decree, executive or
administrative order, rule or regulations to the contrary, the Fund and
all its assets, collections, receivables and increments, as well as all
distributions therefrom, whether of contributions, ratable income of
the Fund, or dividends paid to or received by the members thereof, or
their heirs/beneficiaries, shall be exempt from the payment of any and
all forms of taxes, assessments and other charges. All such provident
payments shall not be liable to attachment, garnishment, levy or
seizure by or under any legal or equitable process whatsoever, either
before or after receipt by the persons entitled thereto, except to pay
any debt of the covered member to the Fund. In addition, the Government
of the Republic of the Philippines hereby guarantees the payment of
employees' and employers' contributions and dividends to the members
when they are due. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 17. Administration Costs. — The Fund shall
bear the costs of its administration and development, in such amounts
and/or limits as the Board of Trustees may deem appropriate, but not
exceeding two percent (2%) of the net Fund assets of the previous year.
Expenses for initial operation, however, may be provided for by the
National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, either as advances subject
to reimbursement, with or without interest, or as subsidy for the
development of housing finance.
Section 18. Audit. — The Chairman of the Commission
on Audit shall act as the ex-officio auditor of the Fund and,
accordingly, is empowered to appoint a representative and other
subordinate personnel to perform and report on such audit duties,
responsible to and removable only by the Commission on Audit Chairman,
without prejudice, however, to the power of the Board of Trustees to
contract for another mode of independent audit service, in addition to
that provided by the Commission on Audit. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 19. Existing Provident/Housing Plans. — An
employer and/or employee-group who, at the time this Decree becomes
effective have their own provident and/or employee-housing plans, may
register with the Fund, for any of the following purposes:cralaw:red
(a) For annual certification of waiver or suspension
from coverage or participation in the Fund, which shall be granted on
the basis of verification that the waiver or suspension does not
contravene any effective collective bargaining agreement and that the
features of the plan or plans are superior to the Fund or continue to
be so; or chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(b) For integration with the Fund, either fully or
partially.
The establishment of a separate provident and/or housing plan after the
effectivity of this Decree shall not be a ground for waiver of coverage
in the Fund; nor shall such coverage bar any employer and/or
employee-group from establishing separate provident and/or housing
plans.
Section 20. Existing Coverage. — Membership under the
Fund established under Presidential Decree No. 1530, together with
amounts and benefits already accrued to the members, including
employers' counterparts, as well as covering records and documents,
shall be transferred, continued and/or integrated into the new Fund
hereby established, subject henceforth to policies and rules adopted
thereunder.
Section 21. Substitute Retirement Plan. — A private
employer shall have the option to treat the coverage by the Funds as a
retirement plan for the employee concerned, within the purview of the
Revised Labor Code of the Philippines, subject, however, to any
existing collective bargaining agreement on the matter.
Section 22. Remittance of Contributions. — Is shall
be the duty of every employer to set aside and remit the contributions
required under this Act through the Social Security System and
Government Service Insurance System or in accordance with a mechanism
determined by the Board of Trustees, as may be approved by the
President of the Philippines. Every employer required to set aside and
remit such contributions as prescribed shall be liable for their
payment, and non-payment shall further subject the employer to penalty
of three per cent per month of the amounts payable from the date the
contributions fall due until paid. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 23. Penal Provisions. — Refusal or failure
without lawful cause or with fraudulent intent to comply with the
provisions of this Decree, as well as the implementing rules and
regulations adopted by the Board of Trustees, particularly with respect
to registration of employees, collection and remittance of employee
savings as well as employer counterparts, or the correct amount due,
within the time set in the implementing rules and regulations or
specific call or extension made by the Fund Management, shall
constitute an offense punishable by a fine of not less, but not more
than twice, the amount involve or imprisonment of not more than six (6)
years, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the
Court, apart from the Civil liabilities and/or obligations of the
offender or delinquent. When the offender is a corporation, the penalty
shall be imposed upon the members of the governing board and the
President or General Manager, without prejudice to the prosecution of
related offenses under the Revised Penal Code and other laws,
revocation and denial of operating rights and privileges in the
Philippines, and deportation when the offender is a foreigner.
Section 24. Fund Supervision. — Particular aspects of
the Fund's administration may be subject to supervision, or visitation
or verification by appropriate agencies of the Government as may be
designated and authorized by the President of the Philippines.
Section 25. Repealing Clause. — Any provisions of
law, decree, executive order, rule or regulations as are in conflict or
inconsistent with the provisions and/or purposes of this Decree are
accordingly repealed, amended or modified.
Section 26. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take
effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 14th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred
and eighty.
|