Low Pag-ibig Fund interest luring house loan borrowers

BAGUIO CITY – The low interest rate for Pag-ibig Fund loans is now enticing members to borrow from the government agency.  

Records from the Pag-Ibig Fund reveal that one in every four who have availed of a housing loan from the government housing agency is an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), an executive said here last week.

“This is proof that housing is an aspiration of the OFWs,” said Amado Isabelo Dizon Sr., vice president of Pag-Ibig Fund, at the start of the OFW Global Leaders Convention one of the hotels in the city.

               The event is a two-day activity organized by the Overseas Filipino Workers-Advocacy and Reform Movement Inc. (OFWARMi), a non-government organization based in Metro Manila, with OFWs all over the world and their families as members.

Dizon said a Filipino goes abroad for various reasons, such as to send their children to school, earn a living, save money, and own a house.

He said there are 146,443 OFWs, who have availed of housing loan from the Pag-Ibig Fund, with a total value of P131.8 billion.

The average loan is P1.072 million.

The housing agency executive said for a housing loan below P1.7 million, the loan value is 95 percent, while those availing of over P1.7 million get a loan value of 90 percent of the amount.

The official said that Pag-Ibig offers an affordable interest rate of 3 percent per annum and is covered by a mortgage redemption insurance premium, where in cases of the OFW unable to pay the remaining premium due to death or accident causing disability, the loan is deemed paid.

He also told the participants, mostly leaders and members of different OFW organizations, that Pag-Ibig is willing to partner with them for the establishment of housing projects in the different regions in the country to benefit their members.

Dizon said from just three offices in the Philippines, Pag-Ibig Fund now has 133 branches nationwide and 23 overseas posts, which can serve members and assist their needs.

“Our thrust is to have one branch for every province to make the services more accessible,” he said.

 He also revealed they now have a total of 13.63 million members in the country and abroad.

To show that the money of the members is properly managed, Dizon said Pag-Ibig Fund currently has an asset of P515.24 billion.

“Our members contribute P100 monthly, which is properly managed and able to grow to what it is now,” Dizon said, adding it is the reason Pag-Ibig can give a high-rate dividend for its members.

He said Pag-Ibig Fund's income grew from P13.25 billion in 2012 to P30.27 billion in 2017, with members' dividends reaching P27.29 billion at the rate of 7.61 percent.

From January to September of 2018, the fund posted earnings of P24,60 billion, which is 10 percent higher than the P22.41 billion it made in the same period of 2017.

Pag-Ibig Fund is a savings program of the government, where the members get a high yield for savings, tax-free, government-guaranteed, and has a 20-year membership period.

 The housing agency celebrates its 37th anniversary this month. – PNA