MANILA, (PIA) -- The Pag-IBIG Fund reported that its members have set a record high of P59.52 billion in savings for the first eight months of this year.

According to Pag-IBIG, this is a growth of 11.45 percent year-on-year, and is considered the largest amount accumulated by members from January to August, in history.

According to Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar, who heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, they are very happy that Filipino workers are aware of the importance of -saving, as well as their choice of the Pag-IBIG Fund to save.

He said the record high savings of their members for the first eight months of the year only shows their continued trust and confidence in their office.

"We are happy to see that more Filipino workers recognize the importance of saving and are choosing to save with Pag-IBIG Fund. The record high in Pag-IBIG members' savings collected from January to August 2023 shows their continuing trust and confidence in us and in our programs," said Acuzar.

He added, this is good news because as their collection grows, more funds can be used by members who want to apply for home loans and short-term loans. "This is good news because as our collection increases, the more funds we are able to utilize for the benefit of our members who seek to apply for home loans and short-term loans. All these are in line with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to improve the Filipino workers' access to finance.”

Meanwhile, Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene C. Acosta said that the agency saw the increase in members' savings collected not only in their mandatory Regular Savings, but also in their voluntary MP2 Savings.

It was noted that collections in Pag-IBIG Regular Savings reached P28.03 billion, or a 7 percent increase from the P26.16 billion collected during the same period in 2022.

The agency's popular MP2 Savings reached P31.50 billion, or a 16 percent increase from the P27.25 billion collected from January to August last year.

In 2022, Pag-IBIG Regular Savings earned an annual dividend rate of 6.53 percent while MP2 Savings posted an annual return rate of 7.03 percent. (PIA-NCR)