Home loans released by the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) reached a record P12.11 billion last month despite the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
In a recent statement, Pag-IBIG Fund said the amount was a 6-percent or P640-million increase from the P11.47 billion in December 2019.
Human Settlements Secretary Eduardo del Rosario called these releases “the highest [in] a single month in [the] Pag-IBIG Fund’s history,” and said that, as a result, “we were able to finance the acquisition of 12,275 homes for our members in December alone, which is also a record high.”
“Amid the challenges, Pag-IBIG has provided homes to more members during the pandemic, aiding in the government’s efforts, led by President [Rodrigo] Duterte, to keep Filipino families safe at home,” added the official, also the head of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.
For 2020, Pag-IBIG Fund released P63.75 billion in home loans, allowing 63,750 members to acquire their own homes. Of this amount, 11 percent, or P7.1 billion, were released as socialized home loans for 16,975 members belonging to the minimum-wage and low-income sectors.
Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti is optimistic these numbers would rise further as the country’s economy continues to open up.
“From September to December, our home-loan releases were close to pre-pandemic levels. We released more than P6 billion to P7 billion in home loans every month, reaching its peak in December, when releases reached over P12 billion,” Moti said.
Last year “may not have been record-breaking in terms of numbers, but it [offered] a story of grit and resiliency as we were able to bounce back quickly,” he added.
The agency had been poised to achieve another milestone for 2020 when the combined home-loan releases in January and February reached P12 billion, up 17 percent year-on-year. But these started to decline in the third month, when the government imposed strict community quarantine measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
As a result, home-loan releases dipped to P3.8 billion in March and P883 million in April. But these started to pick up as early as May, when disbursements jumped to P1.2 billion and rose to P2.9 billion in June. Such releases continued to climb in the second half and already recovered by the end of the third quarter.
“Looking at the bigger picture, the improvement in numbers does not only mean increased homeownership among Filipinos. It also means that Pag-IBIG Fund is able to take part in ensuring the safety of our members and their families, especially during this time of a pandemic,” Moti said.
Pag-IBIG Fund approved a total of P84.53 billion in home loans to finance the acquisition of 80,748 homes last year. Of the amount, P20.78 billion represented approved home-loan applications pending for release, the proceeds of which are ready for disbursement once borrowers submit post-approval requirements.
Source: ManilaTimes
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