Pag-IBIG Fund said it will defer the January 2021 increase of members’ monthly contributions in consideration of the plight of both workers and business owners during the pandemic.
Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, who heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, said they approved the recommendation of the Pag-IBIG Fund management to delay the increase in the monthly contributions of its members from P100 to P150 in 2021, and move the implementation by one year to January 2022. The deferment also applies to the share of their employers.
“We know that many of our members and employers faced financial challenges in the last few months because of the effects brought about by the pandemic to the economy. After consulting with our stakeholders, we will no longer push through with the increase of the members’ monthly contributions next year. This is in line with the efforts of the administration of President Duterte to alleviate the financial burden of our fellow Filipinos and help businesses recover,” Del Rosario said.
In 2019, agency officials approved the increase of its members’ monthly contributions, which had remained unchanged since the 1980s. Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive Acmad Rizaldy Moti said it was projected at that time that the amount of loans disbursed would eventually outpace the total collections from both loan payments and members’ contributions each year.
“So, we proposed to increase the monthly savings by P50 to have enough funds to answer the growing demand and maintain the low rates of our loans. However, with the pandemic reaching our country, the circumstances have changed. Rest assured, our financial position remains strong and that has allowed us to defer the increase in our monthly contributions by a year. What we are focused on right now is providing our members and businesses the assistance they need to cope with the effects of the pandemic,” Moti said.