Pag-IBIG finances P3.67 billion house loans for low-wage earners
MANILA, Philippines — Low-wage earners are into buying real estate, as records of the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) show that P3.67 billion in loans were financed for 8,471 socialized houses in the first half of the year.
Socialized home loans accounted for 19 percent of the total 47,184 housing units funded for the period of January to June this year.
In terms of value, it represented seven percent of the record P51.96 billion in housing credit approved by Pag-IBIG in the first semester of 2022.
Pag-IBIG’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP) is a special home financing program specifically designed for minimum-wage and low-income members.
These are members who earn P15,000 a month in Metro Manila and P12,000 for those outside the capital.
Low rates, low payment
Pag-IBIG chief executive officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti said the program’s low rates and long payment terms allow members from the low-income sector to buy or build a home of their own.
Under the AHP, eligible borrowers have a special subsidized rate of three percent per annum for housing loans of up to P580,000 for socialized subdivision projects.
This translates to a monthly amortization of as low as P2,445.30 for a socialized home loan.
Standing out as the lowest interest in the loan market, Pag-IBIG first offered the subsidized rate five years ago to help more members, particularly those from the minimum-wage sector, own their own houses.
Pag-IBIG managed to keep the three-percent rate steady due to the program’s tax exempt status under the Pag-IBIG Fund Law of 2009.
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