by Rea Cu - August 19, 2016 [businessmirror.com.ph
]
The Home Development Mutual Fund
(Pag-IBIG) on Friday announced it is reducing claims-processing time from a
previous 30-day period to just one day, in line with the President’s directive
of reducing the processing time of documents in all government agencies.
Pag-IBIG members availing themselves of
housing loans need not wait for 30 days to get their claims because
applications will be processed within 24 hours, according to Pag-IBIG.
“Pag-IBIG Fund is continuously
implementing reforms and introducing innovative programs that would ensure the
provision of more benefits to Pag-IBIG members,” said Darlene Marie B.
Berberabe, Pag-IBIG Fund president.
Among the improvements the agency
adopted to better serve its members is the increase in burial benefits of housing
loan borrowers by 10 percent. Instead of a previous burial benefit of P20,000,
members are now given P22,000.
In June this year Pag-IBIG successfully renegotiated the
increase of the burial benefit under its Mortgage Redemption Insurance (MRI) for
members who are housing-loan borrowers.
The MRI deems the housing loan fully
paid upon the death of the borrower, provided that amortization payments are
up-to-date.
The new insurance of Pag-IBIG also fully
pays the loan upon determination of total permanent disability, provides
amortization support of P500,000 in case of terminal illness, and grants
experience refund where 20 percent of the insurer’s profits are refunded to the
insured borrower.
The fund also recently signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to
help expedite the faster processing of housing-loan applications and improve
the services offered by the two agencies.
“We are glad that this agreement between
Pag-IBIG and the BIR complies with the directive of President Duterte to
significantly cut government processes for the benefit of the transacting
public,” she said.
Pag-IBIG received authorization from the
BIR to electronically file tax returns using electronic BIR forms and to secure
Electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR) on behalf of its
member-borrowers.
Former BIR Commissioner Kim S.
Jacinto-Henares issued Revenue Memorandum Order 28-2016 for the policies,
guidelines and procedures in the implementation of the agreement, which was
affirmed recently by current BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay. Pag-IBIG Fund is
the first institution granted an eCAR arrangement by the BIR.
“Some of our member-borrowers are on a
‘no work, no pay’ employment and skipping work just to complete the
housing-loan requirements will have an impact on their salary. With this
arrangement, Pag-IBIG housing-loan borrowers will no longer have to personally
go to the BIR to apply for the issuance of eCAR, saving them precious time and
resources,” Berberabe added.
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