Top executives of Pag-IBIG Fund urged employers with unremitted contributions for their employees to avail of the agency's penalty condonation program and settle their obligations – both prior and during the pandemic – free from any monthly penalty charge on delayed remittances.

"We at Pag-IBIG Fund recognize the significant role that the business community plays in allowing Filipino workers to gain Pag-IBIG membership, and in helping our nation continue to recover from the pandemic," said Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and Chairperson of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

"That is why we are providing the means for employers to settle the unremitted Pag-IBIG contributions of their employees free from penalty charges. With this program, we expect more Filipino workers to enjoy the benefits of being a Pag-IBIG member in line with the call of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to provide a better life for all Filipinos," 

Under the agency's charter, employers are responsible for the registration and remittance of their employees' mandatory monthly Pag-IBIG contributions, which consist of the employee's contributions and the employer's counterpart share. With its penalty condonation program, eligible employers can now settle their employees' unremitted Pag-IBIG contributions without penalty charges.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti, meanwhile, stated that the program is purposely broad in scope to aid in boosting economic activity. The program covers not only all unremitted Pag-IBIG contributions by employers during the pandemic, but also all unremitted contributions even prior to the pandemic.

He added that aside from having the penalty charges on their delayed remittances 100-percent condoned, employers who would be unable to settle their obligations in full may also opt for a payment plan that has a low monthly interest charge of 0.5 percent.  Moti emphasized that if the unremitted contributions being settled are those from during the pandemic or March 2020 onward, the interest charge on payment plans shall be waived.

"The Pag-IBIG Penalty Condonation Program we are offering is more extensive in coverage compared to the previous programs we implemented.  As we seek to provide utmost assistance to the business community, the program covers not only the unremitted contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also those prior to the health crisis," said Moti.

"With the program's favorable terms, employers are provided the means to update the monthly contributions of their employees, while maintaining a healthy cash flow to sustain their operations. This is our way of helping the business community – whose support has been instrumental in allowing Pag-IBIG Fund to post record-highs in our membership savings collections over the past many years – continue with their recovery from the effects of the pandemic."