PAG-IBIG Fund members contributed a total of P27.51 billion in the first four months of 2023, 10 percent higher year on year and a new high for the state-owned firm.

“We are happy that Filipino workers are saving more,” PagIBIG Fund Chairman Jose Rizalino Acuzar said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Their trust and confidence in our savings programs continue to grow as proven by our record-high members’ savings collections for January to April,” he added.

Acuzar, who heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund board of trustees, said the collections would help finance increasing demand for home loans.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene Acosta stated that the rise in savings was not limited to mandated regular savings but also involved the agency’s Modified PagIBIG 2 (MP2) Savings Program.

The amount saved by members through MP2 Savings totaled P13.89 billion as of end-April, 14 percent higher than the P12.14 billion recorded a year earlier.

“We thank our members for their continued support and enduring trust in our MP2 [program], as well as in our regular savings program,” Acosta added.

MP2 savings pay larger dividends, which have a five-year maturity period, and a minimum savings requirement of just P500. The program is open to retirees and pensioners who are former Pag-IBIG Fund members.