Noli orders release of Guimaras calamity loan

Vice President Noli de Castro, chairman of the Pag-IBIG Fund board of trustees, has instructed the corporation to immediately release the calamity loan applied for by Pag-IBIG members from Guimaras Island.

He said this is one way of alleviating the plight of members who have lost their livelihood, those from the five affected municipalities of Guimaras — Jordan, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo, Sibunag, and Buena Vista.

Lawyer Romeo Quimbo, Pag-IBIG Fund president and CEO, reported that since Aug. 28, they have released P15.51 million in calamity loans, covering 1,173 applications.

"Based on the instruction of the Vice President, our office in Iloilo took a pro-active approach and went directly to the calamity-stricken areas to personally give the loan applications to affected members," he said. "Members would ordinarily need to travel to Iloilo City to avail of their loans. That won’t be necessary anymore since even the releasing of checks will be done in Guimaras itself."

Under the Fund’s calamity loan program, a qualified member whose place of residence has been declared under a state of calamity can borrow up to 80 percent of his total savings.

From January to July 2005, Pag-IBIG Fund has released P453.88 million in calamity loans benefiting 26,547 member-borrowers across the country.

Guimaras Island has a membership base of 2,581 members.