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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed a law that amends the charter of the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or the Pag-IBIG Fund, granting the institution more muscle to perform its housing and provident finance mandates.
Republic Act 9679, otherwise known as the Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 2009, amends Presidential Decree 1752 which created the institution in 1980, and integrates all other laws relating to the agency. |
Arroyo signed the law during the inauguration of a housing project of the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the Office of the President (OP) at the New Bilibid Prison compound in Muntinlupa City. The housing project will benefit the employees of the OP, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of Justice-Bureau of Correction.
Vice President and Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and HDMF Board of Trustees, Noli “Kabayan” De Castro, said the new law will translate to more funds for Pag-IBIG’s shelter financing programs.
“Our housing loan disbursements have been growing consistently for the last eight years, and this new law will allow us to meet the growing demand for affordable housing finance, while still ensuring the long-term stability of the Fund and the consistent delivery of benefits to its members,” De Castro said.
From P3.82 billion in 2001, Pag-IBIG released a total of P37.3 billion in end user housing loans in 2008. As of May this year, its housing loan disbursement grew by 34%, indicating a strong demand despite the financial crunch.
The law grants the HDMF Board of Trustees the authority to set the members’ contribution rate, among other features.
Jaime Fabiaña, chief executive officer, said that empowering the Pag-IBIG Board to set the contribution rates is also very timely given the higher loan packages under its housing finance program.
“From only P500,000 in 2001 we have raised the highest loan amount to P3 million. It gets increasingly difficult, and will ultimately be unfeasible to sustain that kind program under the current contribution rate of only P100 per member and an equal employer’s share,” he said.
The law also restores Pag-IBIG’s tax exempt privileges similar to the GSIS and the SSS. According to Fabiaña, Pag-IBIG’s tax exemption will free up additional funds that can be ploughed back to housing. From 2001 to 2008 alone, Pag-IBIG paid a total of P13.59 billion in taxes.
De Castro hailed Arroyo’s signing of the law and the “overwhelming support of both houses of Congress to this very timely legislation.”
“This affirms the fact that both the legislative and executive branches of government see the important role of Pag-IBIG not just in the housing sector but in our country’s economy as the leading housing finance provider in the Philippines today,” he said.
Source: www.pagibigfund.gov.ph
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