Pag-IBIG Fund members saved P36.95 billion in the first nine months, up 26 percent year-on-year and setting a new record for the highest amount saved by members for the nine-month period.
“We are happy that more Filipino workers are saving with the Pag-IBIG Fund. The trust and confidence in our savings programs continue to grow as proven by our record-high members’ savings collections in January to September 2019,” said Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and Pag-IBIG Fund board of trustees.
“This is good news because the increase in the savings collected shall allow us to finance the increasing demand for our home loan and short-term loans, and thus allow us to serve more members. This is in line with the directive of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to provide social benefits to more Filipinos,” said Rosario.
Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive Acmad Rizaldy Moti said that the increase in savings was not confined to the mandated regular savings of its members. He also attributed the record-high number to the increasing popularity of its Modified Pag-IBIG 2 Savings Program.
Collections from its MP2 Savings in the first nine months surged to P8.28 billion, nearly double the amount saved by members in 2018, and up by 176 percent from the P3 billion collected in the same period last year.
The MP2 Savings is Pag-IBIG Fund’s voluntary savings program that yields higher dividends compared to the agency’s regular savings program. The program has a five-year maturity period and minimum savings requirement of only P500. The Fund also opened the program to retirees and pensioners who are former Pag-IBIG Fund members last year, further driving growth.
“Our MP2 Savings Program continues to grow at a remarkable pace. It was only in 2017 when collections from our MP2 Savings surpassed the P1-billion mark, which was then a historic feat. And by the end of 2019, in a span of just two years, we expect to surpass the P10-billion mark in collections. We thank our members for their continued support and enduring trust in our savings programs,” Moti said.
“We are grateful that the biggest growth areas in our savings collections come from our voluntary MP2 Savings Program and from members who save more than their mandated monthly savings. The record-high in members’ savings we collected from January to September of this year show the wider appreciation of our members on the benefits of saving with Pag-IBIG Fund,” said Moti.