Despite the far-reaching impact of the coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, pandemic, the members of the Pag-IBIG Fund continued to save their money.
MP2 Savings Program reached a record-high P6.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021 – the highest-ever amount collectively saved by members in the program for any first quarter, according to Pag-IBIG Fund top officials during the agency’s Virtual Kapihan last Friday, May 14. 
This posted an increase of 43 percent or P2.03 billion compared to the P4.67 billion the members saved on MP2 during the same period in 2020.
The regular savings of Pag-IBIG Fund members meanwhile also increased in the first quarter of 2021.
From P8.04 billion in the first quarter of 2020, the mandatory regular savings increased by 13 percent or hit P9.1 billion in the first three months of this year.
Last month, Pag-IBIG Fund announced that it has released P20.94 billion in home loans in the first quarter of 2021 despite the pandemic.
“We are happy to report that our home loan releases in the first three months of 2021 have increased compared to the same period last year. This increase in our home loan releases means that more Filipino workers are being helped by Pag-IBIG Fund to secure their own homes, which is very important at this time of pandemic. We recognize the role we play in helping keep our members safe in their own homes, as we heed President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for government agencies to provide social benefits to more Filipinos, especially during these challenging times,” said Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, who heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.
Del Rosario added that the P20.94 billion in home loans during the first quarter of the year enabled 20,712 members to acquire their own homes. Out of the total amount, P2.2 billion were released as socialized home loans for the benefit of 5,074 Pag-IBIG Fund members belonging to the minimum-wage and low-income sectors.
Meanwhile, Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti noted that even if measured against the period prior to the implementation of community quarantines, there was still an increase in home loans. The agency released P15.49 billion in home loans from January 1 to March 15 this year, an increase of P546.97 million or 3.7% from the P14.94 billion released in the same period in 2020 when strict community quarantines in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon were yet to be implemented. He further expressed optimism that the numbers will continue to rise, especially as the economy continues to reopen./WDJ