Pag-IBIG Calamity Loan ready for members affected by Mindanao Quake, Eastern Visayas floods

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Pag-IBIG Fund announced on Friday, Nov. 24, that the agency's calamity loan is ready to help members affected by the Mindanao earthquake and Eastern Visayas floods.

«Pag-IBIG Fund has allocated calamity loan funds to help affected members in Saranggani, Davao Occidental, Glan, Sarangani Province, General Santos City and other parts of Mindanao, as well as Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and distressed areas in Eastern Visayas recover from the devastation caused by last week's earthquake and floods,» said Sec. Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and Chairperson of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

«We are also working closely with local government units in these areas, in line with the call of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to extend all the necessary help to our fellow Filipinos in these calamity-hit areas,» Acuzar added.

Under the Pag-IBIG Calamity Loan, eligible members may borrow up to 80% of their total Pag-IBIG Savings, which consist of their monthly contributions, the counterpart employer's contributions, and accumulated dividends earned. And in consideration of the plight of the members, the loan is offered at a rate of 5.95% per annum, which is the lowest rate in the market.

The loan is payable over a period of up to three years, with a grace period of three months so that the initial payment is due only on the fourth month after the loan is released. Qualified borrowers may apply for the calamity loan within 90 days from the date when an area has been declared under a state of calamity.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene C. Acosta, meanwhile, said the agency has already released ₱2.48 billion in calamity loans to help 149,607 members in calamity-hit areas in the country as of October this year.

She added that Pag-IBIG branches in these areas remain open and are now coordinating with the local government units which have already declared states of calamity in their respective jursidictions, for the deployment of service desks and the agency's mobile branch, the Lingkod Pag-IBIG On Wheels, to receive applications for calamity loans from members