MEMBERS of the state-run Pag-Ibig Fund collectively saved over P23.40 billion in the first half of 2019, up by 27 percent compared to the P18.46 billion collected during the same period in 2018.
This set a record for the highest amount saved by members from January to June, the agency said.
“The Members’ Savings collections continue to grow at an unprecedented rate due to our members’ trust and confidence in our programs. We welcome this development because the increased savings collections allow Pag-Ibig Fund to sustain the rapid growth of home loan and short-term loan releases, allowing us to serve more members, in keeping with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s directive to uplift the lives of our Filipino workers,” said Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and a trustee of Pag-Ibig Fund.
Driving the double-digit growth is the growing popularity of the agency’s Modified Pag-Ibig 2 (MP2) Savings program.
MP2 Savings amounted to P4.66 billion in the first semester, up by 198 percent from the P1.57 billion collected in the same period in 2018.
The MP2 Savings is Pag-Ibig Fund’s voluntary savings program that yields higher dividends compared to the regular Pag-Ibig Fund Savings program.
It has a five-year maturity period and a minimum savings requirement of only P500.
Starting 2018, the agency opened the program to retirees and pensioners who are former Pag-Ibig Fund members.
In 2018, MP2 Savings collections jumped 242 percent year-on-year and reached a record high of P4.47 billion.
“Our MP2 Savings Program has been growing at a phenomenal pace. In 2018, it took us a whole year to breach the P4 billion mark, which was a historic feat in itself,” said Pag-Ibig Fund Chief Acmad Rizaldy Moti.
“This year, it took only six months for MP2 Savings collections to reach P4.66 billion, surpassing the total amount collected for the entire 2018. The record-high in members’ savings we collected in the first half of 2019 shows the wider appreciation of our members of the benefits of saving with Pag-Ibig Fun.” (PR)