MANILA -- Pag-IBIG Fund financed more homes for low-income earners in 2021 even during the pandemic, top executives said on January 24.

In 2021, the number of socialized homes financed by Pag-IBIG Fund increased 30% to 22,028 compared to the 16,975 socialized units funded in 2020. The amount of socialized housing loans, meanwhile, surged 37% to P9.71 billion compared to the P7.10 billion released in 2020.

“As the pandemic subsists, Pag-IBIG Fund’s Affordable Housing Program continues to help more low-income workers secure homes of their own. For 2021, we have released more funds so that more of our low-wage members have a safe place of their own. Providing service to the underserved is our contribution to the recovery of our country,” said Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, Chairman of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the 10-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

Pag-IBIG Fund’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP) is a special home financing program that caters to the needs of minimum-wage and low-income members who earn up to P15,000 a month in the National Capital Region (NCR) and members who earn up to P12,000 per month outside the NCR. Under the AHP, home loans worth up to P580,000 come with a subsidized rate of 3% per annum, which is still the most affordable rate in the market today.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti added that socialized units make up 23% of the 94,533 total homes funded by the agency in 2021. Meanwhile, socialized home loans comprise 10% of the P97.28 billion in home loans released last year.

“For years, we have been striving to break the glass ceiling of releasing home loans worth P100 billion in a year. In 2021, I’m glad to say that we have achieved this seemingly impossible goal! And we did that by steadily growing our home releases year in and year out.

Best of all, we achieved our goal by also growing the number of socialized homes and the number of members helped by the AHP. As I always say, our approach to housing has always been comprehensive. Even amid the pandemic, the AHP still offers the lowest rate in the market, which in turn keeps monthly amortization lower than the cost of rent. And, since qualified borrowers do not need to put out cash for equity under the program, payments are always within budget of low-income members. Walang iwanan lalo na sa panahon ng pandemya. That is the mark of our Lingkod Pag-IBIG brand of service,” said Moti. (HDMF)