Pag-IBIG declares P3.4-B dividends

Pag-IBIG members will soon reap the benefits of their membership with this year’s implementation of the annual dividends share.

Pag-IBIG Fund acting president and chief executive officer Romero Quimbo announced that Pag-IBIG’s dividends for year 2001 soared to P3.4 billion, representing a 90-percent increase over the 2000 level of P1.8 billion.

"This just shows how financially stable the Fund is, Quimbo said.

Section 3, Rule VIII of the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 7742 (amending the Home Development Mutual Fund Act) requires the Pag-IBIG board of trustees to "set aside annually an amount which in no case shall be less than 70 percent of the annual net income of the Fund, to be paid in the form of dividends to members and credited proportionately to their Total Accumulated Value."

Total accumulated value consists of the Pag-IBIG member’s contributions, his/her employer counterpart contributions and the dividend earnings of both contributions.

Quimbo attributed the increase to "extensive collection efforts in the housing loan portfolio, a 36-percent increase in income from investment operations and lower provisions for loan losses to conform with industry standards in 2002."

According to the 2000 Business World’s List of 1,000 Corporations, Pag-IBIG Fund has topped the list of earners among government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) based on its P2.7-billion net income.

The continuing healthy financial condition of the Fund is a result of its "prudent investment policies" which have always taken into account "considerations of growth, safety and liquidity."

"We are strongly committed to our members to ensure their funds will continuously grow and these are returned at the appropriate time," Quimbo said.