Pag-IBIG Fund OKs special benefits package for repatriated OFWs

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were repatriated amid the Middle East conflict may now access their Pag-IBIG fund savings or avail of loan moratoriums to help ease their financial burdens.

The Pag-IBIG Fund’s special benefits package for repatriated OFWs is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to extend relief and assistance to distressed OFWs.

In a statement, Jose Ramon Aliling, secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), welcomed the approval of the package amid the government’s continued repatriation of OFWs.

“Maaari nang ma-access ng ating mga bayaning OFWs ang kanilang Pag-IBIG Fund savings kung kakailanganin nila ngayon,” Aliling said in a statement on Sunday.

(Our heroic OFWs can now access their Pag-IBIG Fund savings if they need to do so now.)

“Ito po ang ambag ng Pag IBIG Fund sa hangarin ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. para sa whole-of-government approach sa pagtulong sa ating mga bayaning OFWs,” he added.

(This is the Pag-IBIG Fund’s contribution to President Marcos Jr.’s vision of a whole-of-government approach in helping our OFWs.)

Aliling chairs the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

Under the approved benefits package, qualified OFW members may apply to withdraw up to 100% of their Pag-IBIG Regular Savings, including their employee share, employer share, and dividends earned, even before its 20-year maturity.

They may also withdraw up to 100% of their Modified Pag-IBIG II (MP2) savings, inclusive of returns earned, even before its five-year maturity.

Qualified OFW members may also avail of a three-month moratorium on Pag-IBIG housing loan payments, free from interest and penalties, with the loan term extended by three months.

“Through this benefits package, qualified members may access their Pag-IBIG savings and receive temporary relief on housing loan payments, giving them more room to provide for their families and meet urgent needs during this difficult time,” Aliling said.

As of February 2026, Pag-IBIG Fund has 891,427 registered OFW members in the Middle East.

This includes 86,234 MP2 savers and 40,024 housing loan borrowers, with the largest numbers in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. 

Aliling said these approved relief measures are intended to help affected members meet urgent family and household expenses through early access to their savings, while also giving qualified housing loan borrowers breathing room from monthly payments.

“We recognize that for this assistance to be truly responsive, it must be made available to qualified members in a manner that is fast, clear, and accessible,” Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene Acosta said.

Acosta said these benefits are available online through Virtual Pag-IBIG and through the Pag-IBIG Fund’s more than 200 branches, OFW Centers, and service offices.

Members may access Pag-IBIG Fund’s services from Monday to Friday in office-based branches and from Tuesday to Saturday in mall-based branches.

“In doing so, Pag-IBIG Fund also supports the assistance and reintegration efforts being carried out by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for affected OFWs. Our goal is to make sure that qualified OFW members can turn to Pag-IBIG Fund for immediate and practical support as they recover,” she added. — JMA, GMA News