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AS part of the benefits’ package for laborers this year, Vice President and Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, Noli “Kabayan” De Castro said that Pag-IBIG Fund members can now avail of a two percent discount when they pay their home loans before the due date.

“We’re calling this the ‘Good Payor Incentive Program’ which will especially benefit those home borrowers who were unable to avail of Pag-IBIG’s reduced interest rates for housing,” De Castro said.

De Castro tasked Atty. Romero Quimbo, President and CEO of the Pag-IBIG Fund, to finalize soonest the circular which will implement the new program.

In November 2006, the Pag-IBIG Fund reduced its interest rate from nine to only six percent per annum for a P300,000 housing loan while the rate for P500,000 loan went down to seven percent from 10 percent. Under the new rates, the monthly amortization amounts to P1,798.65 for loans worth P300,000 and P3,326.51 for loans worth P500,000.

All housing loan packages now have a maximum term of 30 years. Under the old guidelines loans over P750,000 up to P2 million had a maximum payment period of only 20 years.

“This aims to provide better access to housing loans for employees who cannot afford to borrow from banks with their current income,” De Castro explained.

The Vice President also instructed the Fund to continue the implementation of its Housing Loan Restructuring and Penalty Condonation Program to enable member-borrowers to settle their delinquent accounts.

In a related development, De Castro announced that the Board has approved the grant of P6.18 billion in dividends to nearly 6.5 million Pag-IBIG members nationwide.

The 2006 dividend comprises 80 percent or the largest ever percentage cut from the Fund’s net income, which represents a dividend rate of 4.81 percent. The Pag-IBIG Fund Charter provides that it should distribute at least 70 percent of its annual net income as dividends to its members.

According to Atty. Quimbo, the steady increase in annual dividends signifies the Pag-IBIG Fund’s continuous growth and stable financial standing. “A higher income for the Fund invariably leads to higher dividends and better services for our members.” (end)