Pag-IBIG Fund hikes home construction fund to P10 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Pag-IBIG Fund has increased to P10 billion its home construction fund in a bid to encourage production of housing units for its members and help boost the national economy.

“We have allocated P10 billion for our House Construction Financing Line (HCFL) Program to ensure not only the continuous production of more socialized and low-cost homes to address the housing needs of our members, but also to serve as stimulus to the housing industry, which have broader effects on our economy. This, then, is Pag-IBIG Fund’s contribution to our nation’s recovery efforts, led by President Duterte, during these challenging times,” said Eduardo del Rosario, head of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund board.

Del Rosario said they have originally set aside P2 billion for the HCFL, but the board approved via referendum on May 20 an additional P8 billion to the construction fund to further boost production of housing units, which include socialized and low-cost homes.

“This is a win-win situation for everyone involved because home construction has a high multiplier effect.  Not only will this be able to construct more houses to address our members’ housing needs, this would also benefit our fellow Filipinos with the jobs that the construction would generate,” del Rosario said.

Meanwhile, Pag-IBIG Fund CEO Acmad Rizaldy Moti reported that for the first time in a few years, a dip was recorded in the home loan releases in the first four months of 2020 as construction of projects and completion of housing units financed under agency’s home loan programs slowed down amid the quarantine.

He added that Pag-IBIG started the year strong when home loan releases reached P5.5 billion in January and P6.5 billion in February. Home loan releases started to drop when the agency disbursed P3.8 billion in March and only P882 million in April, coinciding with the strict quarantine measures imposed in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

Despite this, Moti said the agency has so far financed 16,585 homes, with 97.5 percent or 16,170 of these classified as socialized and low-cost units.