PASIG CITY, (PIA) -- Pag-IBIG Fund achieved milestones in the first four months of the year as members availed of its voluntary savings program and housing loan program in record numbers despite the ongoing health crisis, top officials of the agency reported.

From January to April, members’ savings under the voluntary Modified Pag-IBIG 2 (MP2) Savings program reached P8.65 billion. On the other hand, home loans released during the period amounted to P27.39 billion, helping 27,041 members realize their dream of homeownership.

"We are happy to report that we were able to achieve two ‘highest-ever’ numbers early on in 2021. The strong showing of our MP2 and housing loan programs is a testament to the trust of Filipino workers in Pag-IBIG Fund," said Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) who also chairs the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

"Our members can rest assured that we will continue doing our best, so that we can provide them high earnings on their savings while maintaining the low interest on our loans. These are our contributions to the national government’s efforts towards economic recovery under the lead of President Duterte," Del Rosario added.

In 2020, members saved P13.3 billion in MP2, growing 11% from the previous year and setting the record for the highest amount saved in one year.

Pag-IBIG Fund’s home loans also reached a record-high in December last year when the agency released P12.11 billion, which is the highest amount disbursed in a single month.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti, for his part, expressed optimism that the agency’s strong performance will continue throughout the year, especially as the restrictions are being eased to help the economy.

He noted that the phenomenal performance of its MP2 last year and the increasing amount of home loans released in the last quarter of 2020 continued until the beginning months of 2021.

He said that even amid the ongoing health crisis, MP2 Savings collections in January to April grew 81% while home loan releases rose 64% compared to the same period in 2020.

"Even with the ongoing pandemic, the amount of home loans released and MP2 Savings collections for the first four months of 2021 are not only record-highs but are higher than what we achieved during the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic," he added.

"In the case of our MP2 alone, the amount our members voluntarily saved from January to April this year is already equivalent to two-thirds or 65% of the amount saved in MP2 for the whole year of 2020. We thank our members for their continued trust in Pag-IBIG Fund and in choosing to rely on us for their home financing and savings needs. These give us hope that, barring another black swan event, we are on our way to another best year in fulfilling our mandates to Filipino workers here and abroad," Moti further said. (PIA-NCR)