Top executives of the Pag-IBIG Fund announced the offering of a loan restructuring program that would allow housing loan borrowers to lower their monthly payments and to defer their payments until March next year.

Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, who serves as Chairman of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees and head of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, said that the agency is ready to grant home loan borrowers with lower monthly payments or up to six months of payment relief.

Del Rosario added that penalties on unpaid monthly amortizations will also be waived under its Special Housing Loan Restructuring Program (SHLRP) to help the borrowers “better cope” with the economic challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We understand the needs of our members especially during these trying times, that is why we are offering this program to help ease their financial burden and provide them enough time to recover,” del Rosario said.

Del Rosario explained that the Special Loan Restructuring Program is available to Pag-IBIG’s housing loan borrowers who have unpaid monthly amortizations of up to 12 months as of August 2020.

“If they apply now, they get the chance to resume payment of their restructured loans by as late as March 2021,” del Rosario said. “This gives them at least four months of payment relief,” he added.

Del Rosario said that since Pag-IBIG started offering the program in September, the agency has already received nearly 45,000 application. “I would like to encourage more borrowers to avail, we will be receiving applications until December 15,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti said that borrowers may apply for the loan restructuring program online. This is part of the efforts of the agency to move transactions to its Virtual Pag-IBIG facility to promote better safety and convenience for members.

“We will be accepting applications for our Special Housing Loan Restructuring Program via Virtual Pag-IBIG to make it easier and safer for our borrowers,” Moti said.

Moti said that there is no need for the interested applicants to go to any branch of Pag-IBIG since they can apply for the program from the safety of their homes by clicking www.pagibigfundservices.com/virtualpagibig/HLR/Restructuring.aspx.

“And since the loan restructuring program is meant to help borrowers amid the pandemic, I’d like to remind borrowers that we will not be asking for down payment nor will we charge a processing fee for applications,” Moti said.

The SHLRP, Moti added, is Pag-IBIG’s way of giving back to borrowers who always pay their monthly dues but have fallen behind over the past months due to the pandemic. “We want to assure them that in these times of crisis, they can lean on Pag-IBIG,” he ended.