P6.3-billion calamity loans released

MANILA, Philippines - The Pag-IBIG Fund has so far released P6.3 billion to members affected by storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng” since the agency started processing calamity loan applications last Sept. 28, Vice President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) chairman Noli de Castro said yesterday.

“As of Oct. 19, the Pag-IBIG Fund has received 539,008 applications from affected members in the NCR and Luzon regions, of which 367,405 have already been approved,” De Castro said.

De Castro earlier approved the release of an additional P3 billion over and above the P3-billion funding earmarked for Pag-IBIG’s calamity loan program because of the volume of applications the Fund receives on a daily basis.

“With the extent of devastation caused by the typhoons, the number of calamity loan applications we receive on a daily basis is 12 times more than what the Fund attends to during normal situations. For the past two weeks, we received an average of 30,000 calamity loan applications daily,” said Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) chief executive officer Jaime Fabiaña.

Long queues of clients have been a common sight in HDMF offices servicing members in calamity-stricken areas.

“VP De Castro instructed us to undertake measures that will expedite the processing of applications. We tapped employee volunteers even from our branches in Mindanao and the Visayas to augment the existing manpower in receiving and processing applications. We also asked our vice presidents to help in the signing of the calamity loan checks,” Fabiana said.

He said the agency expects that the volume of clients will start to wane in the coming two to three weeks “as more and more affected members are able to claim their loan proceeds.”

Under the Pag-IBIG Calamity Loan Program, active Fund members who have paid at least 24 monthly contributions and who are residents of localities declared as calamity areas are qualified to apply. Qualified Fund members can borrow up to 80 percent of their total accumulated savings.  The loan has a five-month grace period and is payable in 24 months. Members with existing short-term loans with Pag-IBIG can still avail of the assistance. – Pia Lee-Brago