Pag-IBIG relaxes housing loan payment terms

In a statement, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said Pag-IBIG Fund will give a one-year extension for borrowers to update their accounts. (File photo: Tierra Mallorca/Unsplash)

MANILA – The Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) announced on Saturday that it will extend housing loan term policies for its borrowers amid the coronavirus diseases (Covid-19) pandemic in the country.

In a statement, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said Pag-IBIG Fund will give a one-year extension for borrowers to update their accounts.

“We heed President Duterte’s call to prioritize the welfare of our fellow Filipinos during these challenging times,” del Rosario added. “We want to help members keep their homes, especially now because that is the safest place they can be. Pag-IBIG Fund extends favorable terms to our home loan borrowers.”

Del Rosario, also Pag-IBIG Fund board chairperson, said home loan borrowers who may encounter financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic can avail of Pag-IBIG Fund’s loan restructuring and penalty condonation programs.

“We give them several remedies to save their properties in case of default. Our remediation process also gives borrowers at least one year to update their accounts,” he said.

The programs, he said, will help borrowers update their loans and avoid foreclosure.

Meanwhile, Acmad Rizaldy Moti, Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive officer, said the computation of penalties is based only on unpaid dues instead of the outstanding loan balance, branding the move as “compassion towards borrowers.”

He said the fund expects to see a spike on the default rates in the next few months as a result of the economic slowdown.

“We want to assure our borrowers that we take into consideration their unexpected loss of income as a result of the pandemic,” Moti said.

“We at Pag-IBIG Fund remain committed to enabling Filipino workers not only to buy homes but to keep their homes.

Covid-19 will not change that,” he added.

Pag-IBIG Fund has deferred more than PHP15 billion on its total loan payments by granting an automatic grace period to its 4.77 million borrowers during the first half of the year, in compliance with the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act which provided for a 30-day moratorium on loan payments amid the health crisis.