Pag-IBIG mulls postponing contributions hike due to pandemic

Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund on Friday said it is studying to put on hold its plan to raise the decades-old monthly contributions of its members in consideration of economic fallout resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic affecting both workers and businesses.

In a statement, the Pag-IBIG Fund said Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario has instructed the management of the agency to consult stakeholders to discuss the possibility of delaying the January 2021 implementation of the P50-increase to the agency’s decades-old P100 monthly contributions or savings.

Del Rosario chairs the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

“We recognize that a number of our members and several businesses are experiencing financial hardships brought about by COVID-19. We understand their plight and we want to help them in any way we can,” the Housing chief said.

“That’s why we are studying the possible delay of the P50-increase in the members’ monthly savings right now. This is our contribution to the efforts of the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to alleviate the financial burden of our fellow Filipinos during these challenging times,” he said.

In November 2019, the Pag-IBIG Fund Board approved a staggered increase of the members’ monthly contributions from P100 to P150 by January 2021, and to P200 by January 2023.

The approved increases also apply to their employers’ share.

“The adjustments in members’ monthly savings were meant to provide the necessary additional funds to sustain the growing demand for housing. In the last five years, the demand for Pag-IBIG Fund housing loans steadily grew at an average rate of 17.5% annually,” del Rosario said.

“We expected then, that raising the monthly savings gradually by P50 will infuse more funds so that Pag-IBIG can continue to offer the lowest rates in the market and help more members acquire homes of their own,” he said.

“But again, the study and consultations were done in 2019. The continuing pandemic this 2020 has changed all that. So I urged the Pag-IBIG Fund Management to renew consultations with our stakeholders,” he added.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti, meanwhile, said that the agency’s management will start consulting stakeholders in the coming weeks following del Rosario’s call.

“We will be in talks again with labor unions, non-government organizations and employer groups and we will consider their stand before we proceed. It is important for us to consult them and hear their voices before we decide. As managers of the Filipino workers’ fund, we need to consider the plight of our members and business owners during the pandemic,” Moti said.

The Pag-IBIG Fund chief said the agency's strong financial position allows it to consider delaying the increase in our members’ monthly savings or contributions.

"At the current monthly savings rate of P100, in addition to our housing and short-term loan payment collections, we have more than enough funds to support the home loan needs of our members. We would like to assure our members and stakeholders that we remain true to our commitment to serve them, especially amid the challenges we are facing today,” Moti said.—LDF, GMA News