Pag-IBIG housing loans rise as per the last two months as government officials pointed out the consistent reparations to the agency’s loan programs while making sure that services are widely accessible to members despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, forefront of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, cited of their support towards the efforts of the current administration of Duterte upon helping the Filipino citizens to fulfill their dreams of homeownership amidst the pandemic.
As per Del Rosario, they are in full support of the Duterte Administration; they are in line with helping and in assisting their fellow Filipinos.
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We fully support the administration’s efforts, led by President Duterte, in helping our fellow Filipinos achieve their dream of homeownership 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."
Letdown in the Agency's Expectations
The Pag-IBIG Fund began the year on a high scale with home loan releases reaching P5.5 billion in January, then rising further to P6.5 billion in February, further surpassing the amount released for the same months last year by 17 percent. With such accomplishments in the first two months of 2020, Pag-IBIG was expected to likely release P100 billion in home loans by the end of the year.
However due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection in March and the sudden implementation of strict quarantine measures imposed in Metro Manila and in various parts of the Philippines for national safety; home loan releases went down to P3.8 billion in March and P.88 billion in April.
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In May, as quarantine measures were either receded in restrictions or lifted; the numbers started showing improvement when housing loan releases increased to P1.2 billion in May and increased even further to P2.9 billion in June.
Total of Housing Loan Releases
In total, Pag-IBIG Fund has delegated an amount of P20.80 billion amassed from January to June to fund the acquisition of 20,631 homes for its borrowers. Out of the total amount, 91 percent or P18.94 billion have been subsidized 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.
Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti noted that under the Duterte administration, the agency was able to achieve a string of “best year ever,” further explaining that the record for housing loan releases are broken each year by Pag-IBIG.
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.
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He adds that the figures they're getting might not be as big like how it was in the past years. However, he says that this situation is just temporary.
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."
Housing Loan Promos
Recently, the agency has offered home loan promos before news broke out in which housing loans rise. This is due to Resolution No. 33 of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in which the order was created to all banks and financial institutions.
These include the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), and the Pag-IBIG Fund to implement a minimum of a 30-day grace period from the due date or until the community quarantine has been lifted, whichever is longer, for the payment of all loans, falling due within the period of ECQ or GCQ without incurring interests, penalties, fees, or other charges.
A projection of a takeout value risking about PHP50 billion from July to December of 2020 which is approximately a PHP1.376-billion interest income-loss over three years might happen according to the agency's chief executive.
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Moreover, Pag-IBIG has previously set in place a three-month moratorium on the payment of housing loans and other loan programs during the health crisis.
What do you think of the housing loans rise? Will Pag-IBIG be able to meet its initial expectations by the end of this year?
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