PAG-IBIG allocates ₧3B for loans to members affected by quake

TOP executives of the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), or PAG-IBIG Fund, said the agency has initially allocated P3 billion in calamity loan funds for members in calamity-stricken areas, including those affected by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit North Luzon.

PAG-IBIG Fund has allocated calamity loan funds to help affected members in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) recover from the devastation caused by last week's earthquake, according to Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar.

“We are also working closely with our fellow government agencies so that we can maximize our collective assets towards providing for the needs of our fellow Filipinos affected in these areas,” Acuzar, also chairman of the 11-member PAG-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, was quoted in a statement as saying.

Under the agency’s calamity loan, eligible members may borrow up to 80 percent of their total PAG-IBIG savings, which consist of their monthly contributions, the counterpart employer’s contributions and accumulated dividends earned. And in consideration of the plight of the members, the calamity loan is offered at a rate of 5.95 percent per annum, which PAG-IBIG said is the lowest rate in the market.

The loan is payable over a period of up to three years, with a grace period of two months so that initial payment is due only on the third month after the loan is released, the agency explained. Qualified borrowers may apply for the calamity loan within 90 days from the date when an area has been declared under a state of calamity.