In a recent forum held in Butuan City, Maria Olive Seron, head of the Pag-IBIG Fund’s Butuan branch, announced that members in the Caraga Region have saved a total of PHP2.6 billion from July 2022 to September 2024. This impressive sum breaks down into PHP1.66 billion from regular savings and PHP940 million from the voluntary Modified Pag-IBIG II (MP2) savings program.
The Caraga Region is supported by three Pag-IBIG branches: Butuan, which serves Agusan del Norte; San Francisco, covering Agusan del Sur and parts of Surigao del Sur; and Surigao City, which caters to Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands, and additional areas of Surigao del Sur. Seron highlighted that there are currently 192,070 active Pag-IBIG members in the region, with specific distributions of 82,810 in Butuan, 61,244 in San Francisco, and 48,016 in Surigao City.
Beyond savings, Pag-IBIG offers various loan services to its members, including housing, multipurpose, and emergency loans. As of September, the agency has disbursed PHP1.87 billion in multipurpose loans and PHP164 million in calamity loans to members in Caraga. In the housing sector, PHP2.36 billion was allocated for home purchases and repairs, aiding 1,933 members, while PHP267 million in socialized housing loans supported 570 members.
To improve housing affordability, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program, managed by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, provides subsidies and reduced amortization rates. This initiative fosters collaborations among Pag-IBIG, local government units, private companies, and nonprofit organizations through the Countryside Housing Initiative (CHI).
A notable example of this partnership is the collaboration between Pag-IBIG and the city government of Tandag in Surigao del Sur, which led to the development of the Green Valley Subdivision in July 2023. This project offers 492 affordable duplex units specifically for city government employees.