Pag-IBIG Fund extended socialized housing loans to 10,640 members from the minimum-wage and low-income sectors in the first half of 2021 despite the continuing pandemic, top officials announced Wednesday (July 21).
The number of socialized home loans make up 24% of the total 43,573 home loans released by the agency from January to June this year. The number is equivalent to P4.66 billion or 11% of the P44.34 billion home loans released by the agency during the first half of the year. Amid the health crisis, the number of socialized home loans increased by 99% – nearly double the 5,357 socialized home loans granted during the same period last year, while the amount released also grew by 111% from P2.21 billion in 2020.
“We believe that home ownership is a right of every Filipino family. With the Affordable Housing Program of Pag-IBIG Fund, achieving the dream of homeownership is made possible especially for minimum-wage workers . The program’s lowest rates and longest term allow our members from the low-income sector to buy or build a home of their own. This is our way of adhering to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for government institutions to carry out programs that address the needs of the underserved sector,” said Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, Chairperson of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees and Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).
The agency’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP) is designed for members who earn up to P15,000 a month within the National Capital Region (NCR) and members who earn up to P12,000 per month outside the NCR. Under the AHP, Pag-IBIG Fund offers a subsidized rate of 3% per annum for socialized home loans up to P580,000.
Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti said that the 3% rate offered by Pag-IBIG Fund is the lowest in the market, and has been made available to eligible members since May 2017.
“During this difficult time, Pag-IBIG Fund’s Affordable Housing Program has become the means to support our low-income members in helping them acquire their own homes. Because we are exempt from tax under our Charter, Pag-IBIG Fund can afford to offer the lowest rates for the home loans of minimum and low-wage workers. Aside from keeping our interest rates low, we also reduced its insurance premiums, which keeps the monthly amortization at an affordable P2,445.30 for a socialized home loan of up to P580,000. And what’s more, qualified borrowers will never have to put out cash for equity under the program. All of these are part of our efforts to provide the best home financing program for our members who earn minimum wage,” Moti said.
