Pag-IBIG members to get discounts at select stores

MANILA, Philippines - Some 14.8 million members of the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund will soon avail of discounts from select establishments through the Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card which will be implemented nationwide in the coming months.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, the country’s housing czar and chairman of the Pag-IBIG Fund, said they have been talking to private companies which are willing to give discounts and privileges for Pag-IBIG members.

“We wanted to come up with a program which maximizes one’s membership by adding value to the P100 that he contributes monthly,” Binay said.

The agency has pilot tested the program in Baguio, Cebu, and Davao, benefitting 213,860 members, Binay said.

Last year, Pag-IBIG Fund has posted its highest gross and net income in its 34-year history, at P30.68 billion and P16.22 billion, respectively.

According to Binay, Pag-IBIG membership grew from 8.8 million in 2010 to 14.8 million in 2014.

Binay said the Pag-IBIG board recently declared P11.34 billion in dividends in 2014, at a dividend rate of 4.18 percent, higher than the interest rate of 0.5 percent to one percent offered by banking institutions.

Savers under the Modified Pag-IBIG 2 (MP2) program earned dividends at a higher dividend rate of 4.68 percent, he said.

Binay earlier reminded the employees of the Pag-IBIG Fund of the agency’s “No Gift Policy” in transacting business with the public amid allegations made by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV that he favored certain housing project contractors in exchange for a share in their profits.