Pag-IBIG targets to dispose 100T home units every year

CEBU, Philippines — With its aggressive stance to provide affordable residential credit access to Filipinos, Pag-IBIG Fund targets to loan out at least 100 thousand home units a year starting 2018.

This as the agency disposed a total of 81 thousand new houses via home loans in 2017, a big jump from 75 thousand houses recorded in 2016.

Pag-IBIG chief executive officer (CEO) Acmed Rizaldy P. Moti expressed confidence that more Filipinos will be able to own homes in the coming months, specifically that interest rates and cash outlay requirements have been reduced significantly under his term.

Besides, he said the strong interest among residential developers to accredit with Pag-IBIG also boosted the rise of available units that can be availed of by members even in the countryside areas.

In fact, Pag-IBIG in partnership with Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) is now working on a campaign for the countryside areas to pre-approve home loans to encourage developers to invest in residential projects in non-urban locations.

Teachers and other government employees will be able to easily own and live in a gated subdivision or well-developed housing villages with this program.

Pag-IBIG and HLURB will reach out directly to developers to convince them of the ready market via the pre-approved home loans in a certain province or town.

This is one of the ways to spread the benefits of taking advantage of the home loan access offered by Pag-IBIG with all-time low interest rates.

The agency will also provide credit access to developers of subdivisions in the outskirts, Moti said.

One of the challenges faced by Pag-IBIG at present is the low take up of home loans among its members.

Of the 17.65 million Pag-IBIG members, only about 10 percent of them are availing of the home loan access, Moti said.

Moti, who hails from Mindanao, expects that with the active stance of the government to provide decent shelters to the working class, this can be reversed and ultimately more Filipinos will be able to own homes and not rent anymore.

Moti was in Cebu recently to report the agency's accomplishments in 2017 and its plans.

Active partner developers were also given recognition for their housing projects that benefit the members.

Among the awardees were Cebu Landmasters Inc., Sunberry Homes, Kenrich Development Corporation, and 8990 Housing Development Corporation, among others. (FREEMAN)