Pag-IBIG Fund misses 2015 collection target

CEBU, Philippines – Collections of the Home Development Mutual Fund, popularly known as Pag-IBIG Fund, from Cebu in 2015 amounted to P1.74 billion, slightly short of its target, official data showed.

Membership savings, from various income sources, collected by its branches in Cebu – Cebu Ayala, Cebu Downtown, Talisay, Mandaue and Mactan – totaled P1.74 billion last year, 3.64 percent short of its P1.81-billion target for the year.

In the whole Visayas, Pag-IBIG collected P3.75 billion in 2015, accomplishing 97 percent of its P3.86-billion target.

In an interview, Rio Teves, business development manager for Pag-IBIG Visayas, explained that there are some factors that make the agency fail to reach its targets.

"These factors include closure of business, reduction of manpower and there are agencies that are delayed in their remittance," Teves noted.

Another reason, he said, is the labor contractualization which is hiring of workers for short-term, non-regular employment without benefits accorded by law to regular workers.

Teves said that regular contribution of contractual workers to Pag-IBIG is likely to be affected once their contracts with their employers expire.

Teves also said the agency continues to improve its collection effort to become efficient.

Under the HDMF Law of 2009, membership to the Pag-IBIG Fund is made mandatory for all employees covered by Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System.

Registered members must contribute a minimum of P100 per month.

Pag-IBIG is a fund set up by the Philippine government to help more Filipinos acquire a house and get loan assistance.

As of December 2015, the state-run home financing agency has a total of 728,529 members in Cebu.

In the whole Visayas, it has a total of 1,438,282 members as of end-2015.

Pag-IBIG's operations in Visayas region covers South Central Visayas (Cebu Ayala, Cebu Downtown, Talisay and Dumaguete); North Central and Eastern Visayas (Mandaue, Mactan, Tagbilaran, Tacloban and Ormoc); and Western Visayas (Iloilo, Kalibo, Capiz, Bacolod, Kabankalan and Sagay).

Pag-IBIG currently has 77 branches nationwide and offices in 22 other countries serving overseas Filipino workers.

In the first seven months of 2015, the agency posted a 9.78 percent rise in its gross income to P19.20 billion from P17.49 billion in the same period in 2014. (FREEMAN)