Home Development Mutual (Pag-IBIG) Fund members in the Caraga Region collectively saved PHP2.6 billion from July 2022 to September this year, a regional official said Tuesday.

“Of the total savings, PHP1.66 billion is attributed to regular savings while PHP940 million is from the voluntary Modified Pag-IBIG II (MP2) savings,” Maria Olive Seron, head of Pag-IBIG Fund Butuan branch, said during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum.

The Caraga region is served by three Pag-IBIG branches: Butuan, covering Agusan del Norte; San Francisco, covering Agusan del Sur and parts of Surigao del Sur; and Surigao City, which serves Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands and portions of Surigao del Sur.

Seron reported 192,070 active Pag-IBIG members across the region, with 82,810 members in Butuan, 61,244 in San Francisco, and 48,016 in Surigao City.

Pag-IBIG also provides its members with loans for housing, multipurpose needs and emergencies.

As of September, the agency has disbursed PHP1.87 billion in multipurpose loans and PHP164 million in calamity loans to Caraga members.

In the housing sector, PHP2.36 billion was released for home purchase and repairs, benefiting 1,933 members, and PHP267 million in socialized housing loans supported 570 members.

To further enhance housing affordability, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (National Housing for Filipinos of 4PH) program, coordinated by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, offers subsidies and lower amortization rates.

The program encourages partnerships among Pag-IBIG, local government units, private entities and nonprofit organizations through the Countryside Housing Initiative (CHI).

In July 2023, Pag-IBIG and the city government of Tandag in Surigao del Sur partnered under CHI to develop the Green Valley Subdivision.

This project has 492 affordable duplex units for city government employees. (PNA)