THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) ordered a three-month moratorium on loan payments to government agencies providing housing finance during the Luzon enhanced community quarantine.

“’Yung Pag-IBIG, National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC), Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), National Housing Authority (NHA), magkakaroon po kami ng moratorium sa mga payment ng mga housing loan at multi-purpose loans ng ating mga miyembro (Pag-IBIG, NHMFC, SHFC and NHA will observe a moratorium on payments of housing loans and multi-purpose loans), from March 16 to June 15. So for three months we will not collect payments from our members,” DHSUD Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario said in a radio interview Tuesday.

Pag-IBIG Fund is the trading name of the Home Development Mutual Fund and finances mainly low-cost housing.

He said borrowers will not be charged interest or penalties on deferred loan payments.

Mr. Del Rosario added that members making payments during the moratorium can still do so online and via accredited institutions such as Bayad Centers.

“’Yung mga gusto namang magbayad dahil mas mabilis na matapos ang kanilang pagbabayad ng kanilang loans ay wala ring problema. May online payments na at tsaka meron tayong accredited institutions para dun sila magbayad (Those who would like to continue paying to bring their loan balances down can pay online and at accredited payment centers)” he said.

Meanwhile, Pag-IBIG said members seeking financial assistance can avail of its calamity loan program.

“Para po sa mga miyembro natin, dito po sa Luzon, lalo na po ’yung nasa NCR (National Capital Region), basta po na declare na may state of calamity, ’yung calamity loan program natin ay na-ti-trigger. Ito po ang pinaka murang pautang para sa mga miyembro, 5.95% lang po ang interes (For members in Luzon, especially in the NCR, a state of calamity declaration will trigger the release of calamity loans, which are low-cost at 5.95% only),” Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti said in a radio interview Tuesday.

Members can borrow up to 80% of their Pag-IBIG Regular Savings. On average, each member receives up to P20,000 for approved calamity loans, Mr. Moti said.

The enhanced community quarantine is pushing Pag-IBIG to explore alternative loan filing methods, Mr. Moti said.

“Meron po tayong online filing. May kailangan po kasing pirma ng mga employers. Ang mga ang employers po natin ay naka work from home din po so inaaral po natin ngayon kung kakayanin na yung mga fund coordinators po natin dito sa may Luzon na baka pwede sila po ang mag-e-mail sa amin at sila ang mag-certify bale (For our online filing channel, applications require an employer’s signature, and even they are working from home, so we are studying how fund coordinators in Luzon can work around these constraints via e-mail),” he said.

Mr. Moti said that members can also use drop boxes in all Pag-IBIG Fund branches to submit their loan applications, adding that workers from exempt industries like Business Process Outsourcing can go to nearby pag-IBIG locations.

Mr. Moti added that members can avail of both the calamity and the multi-purpose loans.

The Pag-IBIG Fund Multi-Purpose Loan may be used on members’ immediate financial needs, according to the Pag-IBIG website. — Genshen L. Espedido

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