The appeal of business groups for a penalty condonation for firms affected by the pandemic has been considered and is now up for the board’s approval, Pag-IBIG CEO said Monday.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), and the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc earlier asked Pag-IBIG to extend aid for struggling firms in the form of penalty condonation.
The penalty condonation will cover delinquent employers in the last 2 years. Business groups have also requested for a longer payment plan for those who could not immediately pay within 6 months, Moti said.
“Given the realities of an economic crisis, we have considered their request and our proposal is to extend it up to 1 year, if necessary, subject to approval. So long as we can see that employers need longer payment plans, we will go for it,” Moti said.
“We have incorporated these and we will soon present them to the board of trustees of Pag-IBIG. At the management level, the management committee, we approved it recently just last week. [This is now] for presentation for Board of Trustees,” he added.
With the penalty condonation, the Pag-IBIG fund stands to lose some P868 million in additional income, Moti said, highlighting that in the time of a pandemic the agency is “willing to extend a helping hand.”
Remittance performance has gone down to 81 percent from 91 percent pre-pandemic level. But Moti said there has been a recovery in payments as more companies are starting to remit.
The year 2021 is also poised to record the “highest ever” housing loan releases due to the rising demand.
