Pag-IBIG home loan releases breached P100 billion in 2021

Pag-IBIG Fund said it set a new record as home loans exceeded P100 billion for the first time amid the pandemic.

In a statement, Pag-IBIG Fund said home loans reached P97.28 billion last year, on top of interim releases for loans for house construction and renovation amounting to P3.5 billion.  This brought total releases to P100.8 billion—the highest amount released by the agency in a year.

The amount disbursed in 2021 grew 58 percent from P63.75 billion released in 2020 and surpassed by 16 percent the P86.74 billion released in 2019, the agency’s previous record.

“While the country is still facing challenges caused by the pandemic, I am happy to report that Pag-IBIG released more than P100 billion in home loans in 2021, surpassing its ‘best-ever’ figure which it achieved in 2019, before the health crisis started,” said Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, who heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.

“This is very good news for our members because bigger releases mean that more Filipino workers have become homeowners even during the pandemic. The growth in home loan disbursements also contributes to the economic recovery efforts of the government,” said del Rosario, who also heads the 10-member Pag-IBIG Fund board of trustees.

Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive Acmad Rizaldy Moti said the amount financed the acquisition of a record-high 94,533 housing units for its members, an increase of 48 percent from the 63,750 housing units financed in 2020.  Of the amount, P9.71 billion financed the acquisition of 22,028 socialized housing units for members belonging to the minimum-wage and low-income sectors, or 23 percent of the entire number of homes financed for the whole 2021.

“We previously thought that releasing P100 billion in home loans in one year was impossible. Yet, even when our home loan releases were at P57 billion in 2016, we still targeted the release of P100 billion by 2022. And thanks to the commitment of your Lingkod Pag-IBIG and the support of our stakeholders, we have already surpassed P100 billion in home loan releases in 2021—a year earlier than our target date and even during a pandemic. What truly is significant behind this number is that we were able to serve more Filipino workers during the most difficult times and we remain a catalyst for the Philippine housing industry to thrive even amid the pandemic.  I am grateful to everyone who helped make this seemingly impossible goal come true,” said Moti.