July 11, 2009 06:47 PM Saturday [ journal.com.ph ]
Vice President Noli de Castro, concurrent chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) Board of Trustees, recently announced that the fund is offering interest subsidy for socialized housing loan borrowers.
“The Pag-IBIG Interest Subsidy Program caters specifically to our low-income members who dream of owning houses. By giving them financial support as they avail themselves of the Fund’s socialized housing loan program, we are making the Pag-IBIG end-user program more affordable.
The program guidelines apply to borrowers whose socialized housing loans are taken out beginning July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2014. Beneficiaries shall be entitled to an interest subsidy of 1.5 percent per annum for the first five years of the loan term.
“Halimbawa, sa housing loan na P400,000 na may six-percent interest rate, ang buwanang hulog, excluding insurance premiums and other fees, ay around P2,400. Pag-IBIG will subsidize the P500, kaya ang monthly na babayaran ay mahigit kumulang P1,900 na lang,” De Castro explained.
Jaime Fabiaña, Pag-IBIG chief executive officer, explained that under the program, 500 beneficiaries monthly will be chosen through a raffle from among qualified applicants evaluated from the preceding months.
To qualify, one must be an eligible borrower under the prevailing end-user housing-loan program, and has not acquired a house or availed him/herself a housing loan from any agency or financial institution. The loan being availed of must amount to at most P400,000. Applicant’s yearly gross family income must not exceed P180,000.
Fabiana also said the housing loan may be used for any of the following purposes: purchase of a residential lot with selling price not exceeding P160,000; purchase of a residential unit and lot, which may be old, brand new, mortgaged with the fund or an acquired asset; purchase of a lot and construction of a residential unit thereon; home improvement; or construction or completion of residential unit on a lot owned by the borrower.
Beneficiaries drawn during the raffle shall be notified by registered mail and phone call, and their names will also be posted on announcement boards in all Pag-IBIG Fund branches. bers to own their homes.
De Castro said that the housing loan program of Pag-IBIG has been unaffected by the economic crisis. End-user financing for the first five months of the year increased by 34 percent to reach P16.93 billion compared to the P12.65 billion level recorded for the same period last year.
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