Pag-IBIG housing loans rise as economy reopens

MANILA, Philippines — Pag-IBIG home loan releases increased over the last two months as continuous enhancements to the agency’s loan programs made services more accessible to members amid the pandemic.

“We fully support the administration’s efforts, led by President Duterte, in helping our fellow Filipinos achieve their dream of home ownership even during these challenging times.

And, with our recent offering of promo rates on our housing loan, we expect even more members to secure their own homes in the coming months.

This also plays a major part in our country’s road to recovery because as more members secure homes, the more jobs it would generate for our fellow Filipinos,” said Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, who heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

Pag-IBIG Fund started the year on a high note with home loan releases reaching P5.5 billion in January, then rising further to P6.5 billion in February, exceeding the amount released for the same months last year by 17 percent. With such accomplishments, Pag-IBIG was on track to release P100 billion in home loans by the end of the year.

But with the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection in March and the implementation of strict quarantine measures imposed in Metro Manila and other parts of the country for national safety, home loan releases dipped to P3.8 billion in March and P880 million in April.

In May, as quarantines were either eased or lifted, the numbers started to improve as home loan releases increased to P1.2 billion and jumped even further to P2.9 billion in June.

In total, Pag-IBIG Fund has released over P20.80 billion from January to June to finance the acquisition of 20,631 homes for its borrowers. Out of the total amount, 91 percent or P18.94 billion were released as socialized and low-cost home loans for the benefit of 20,084 members, which include those who belong to the minimum wage and low income sectors.

“In the last few years, under the administration of President Duterte, Pag-IBIG Fund achieved a string of ‘best year ever.’ Since 2016, we have broken our record for home loan releases each year. We were getting ready for our best year yet in 2020 but it took a pandemic to slow us down. The improvement in our numbers in the past two months shows how responsive and well-positioned Pag-IBIG Fund is, and we are confident that we are on our way to recovery. Our numbers may not be record-breaking like in the past years, but this is only temporary. For Pag-IBIG, 2020 will be a story of strength, resiliency and service to members as we tackle the challenges of the ‘better normal’,” said Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti.