Pag-IBIG Fund finances 5,411 socialized homes

HOME Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) reported that it had financed 5,411 socialized homes for low-wage and low-income members in the first four months of the year.

The agency said in a statement on Wednesday that socialized housing loans accounted for 18 percent of the 29,310 units it financed from January to April 2022.

Socialized home loans account for 7 percent, or P2.35 billion, of its record-breaking P31.97 billion in home loans disbursed during the time.

Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario was quoted as saying that socialized housing is built specifically for minimum and low-wage workers.

"With Pag-IBIG Fund's Affordable Housing Program, we make sure that all our members, particularly those from the low-income sector, are given the opportunity to own a home. This is the essence of the Balai (Building Adequate, Livable, Affordable and Inclusive) Filipino Communities Program of the government's housing sector toward providing decent shelter for every Filipino family," del Rosario, who is also the chairman of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, added.

The program is for members of the low-income and minimum-wage sectors who earn up to P15,000 per month in the National Capital Region (NCR) and up to P12,000 per month outside the NCR, the agency explained. Borrowers who take out home loans of up to P580,000 for socialized subdivision projects and up to P750,000 for socialized condominium projects benefit from a subsidized rate of 3 percent per year.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti was also quoted as saying that the program's 3-percent rate remains the lowest in the market — a rate that the agency has provided for low-income members since May 2017, and is able to offer due to its tax-exempt status as prescribed by Republic Act 9679 or the "Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) Law of 2009."

Source: TheManila Times