The Home Mutual Development Fund, popularly known as the Pag-IBIG Fund, reported that its members contributed P15.53 billion in the first five months of 2018.

Collection was up by P630 million compared to the P14.90 billion collected during the same period last year.

Earnings from the Modified Pag-IBIG 2 (MP2) savings program totalled P1.14 billion, up by 151 percent compared to the P454.52 million collected year-on-year.

“Following President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to prioritize the needs of our citizens, Pag-IBIG Fund ramped up its savings campaign and further encouraged its members to save more,” said Sec. Eduardo Del Rosario.

Del Rosario is the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive officer (CEO) Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti added that in 2017, the Fund registered its highest ever collection at P36.3 billion, up 11% or P3.5 billion from the P32.8 billion collected in 2016.

It was also the first time that it recorded a P3-billion year-on-year growth on members’ savings collection.

Moti said that the P1.14 billion collected from January to May 2018 under the MP2 savings program is already equivalent to 88% of the P1.30 billion collected in 2017.

“We expect to exceed the 2017 figures, as more and more members opt to enrol with our voluntary savings program that is the MP2. The minimum monthly savings in our MP2 is only P500 but members save more than the minimum,” he said.

The MP2 savings program is a voluntary savings program that provides active Pag-IBIG members with another savings option that yields higher annual dividend rates.

It has a term of only five years. All savings and dividends earned are guaranteed in full by the government.

For 2017, Pag-IBIG Fund declared an unprecedented 8.11% dividend rate for MP2. These were credited to the savers’ accounts in the first quarter of 2018.

Moti said that the Pag-IBIG Fund enhanced the features of the MP2 Program in July to cover even more members in the second half of the year.

“We just approved the new guidelines to make all Pag-IBIG members eligible to enroll under MP2 regardless of their monthly income because the previous program was open only to members with monthly income exceeding P5,000,”said Moti.

“The new program also extends coverage to retirees. There’s a lot of clamor from them, especially those who retired from government service. They’re looking for savings mechanisms where they can grow their extra funds,” he added.

The enhanced MP2 program is open to former Pag-IBIG members with other sources of monthly income or pensioners, regardless of age, with at least 24 monthly savings in the Fund prior to their retirement.

“We opened the MP2 program to more members to encourage them to save. We enjoin the public to save more in Pag-IBIG. If you’re looking for higher yield on your savings, this is the best time to grow your funds,” said Moti.