VICE President Noli “Kabayan” de Castro, concurrent chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees, has announced that Pag-IBIG members presently unemployed due to termination of employment contract, closure of company, layoff and retrenchment, will be given financial assistance under a Special Short Term Loan (STL) program for displaced workers. “This measure is part of our effort to mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis on our unemployed members,” De Castro said in a statement. Members with at least 24 monthly contributions may borrow an amount equivalent to 50 percent of their total savings. The loan is payable in three years, including a one-year grace period. Unemployed members with existing MPL may borrow up to 50 percent of their remaining savings, as Pag-IBIG has already deducted or offset the balance of their earlier loan from their outstanding contributions. The Fund has also condoned any incurred penalties. Jaime Fabiana, officer in charge, said members need to submit an accomplished MPL application form and a notice of separation from employment/termination of services or a certification of retrenchment or layoff. “We will secure a list of companies that closed and a list of repatriated overseas Filipino workers from the Department of Labor and Employment to speed up the processing of applications,” he said. Members who have been inactive for more than six months should update their membership record prior to filing their loan applications. For the members’ convenience, their loan proceeds will either be credited to the borrower’s bank account through the LandBank’s Payroll Credit Systems Validation or the Philippine Domestic Dollar Transfer System facilities, and other similar modes of payment. Proceeds may also be released through a check, payable to the borrower. Members may pay to any Pag-IBIG Fund office or to any of its authorized collecting agents or banks. Should they find employment at any time during the loan term, they may continue paying through their new employers. Members may renew their STL after paying six monthly amortizations. The Fund has released close to P5.6 billion in short-term loans for the first two months of the year, representing a 20-percent increase over the P4.7-billion level recorded for the same period in 2008. Inquiries on the new program may be made by visiting any Pag-IBIG branch or calling the Pag-IBIG hot line at 724-4244.
