And for us to continue financing the growth in home loans of our members under such low rates, there is a need to increase our members’ P100 monthly savings.

After several months of public consultation, Pag-IBIG Fund has secured the support of labor and employer groups to raise the three decades-old P100 monthly savings rate of its members.

In a statement, Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said the low interest rates of the agency’s home loans make homeownership within reach of its members, so much so that availment of home loans has grown tremendously.

“And for us to continue financing the growth in home loans of our members under such low rates, there is a need to increase our members’ P100 monthly savings. But because President Duterte has standing orders to consider the plight of the Filipino workers, we have spent the last six months consulting with labor unions, OFW non-government organizations (NGO), employer groups, and other stakeholders to seek their views on our plan to increase the membership savings rate,” said Del Rosario, who is also chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

He noted that from April to September, Pag-IBIG Fund has been in talks with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Philippine Government Employees Association, Kapisanan ng mga Manggagawa sa GOCCs at GFIs, Federation of Free Workers, the Filipino Migrant Workers Group, OFW NGO, the National Anti-Poverty Commission, and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti, meanwhile, said the consultations centered on the agency’s proposal to adjust the monthly savings of Pag-IBIG Fund members, which has remained at P100 for more than three decades.

“Demand for our home loans has grown annually at an average of 17.5 percent in the past five years. We have been able to sustain this double-digit growth in 2019 with the release of P58.73 billion in home loans in the last nine months. This is the highest-ever amount released for any January to September period and is a 13.5 percent increase from the P51.76 billion released in the same period last year,” Moto pointed out.