Pag-IBIG Fund has released P136 million in calamity loans to 6,500 Fund members affected by Sendong.
The release followed a directive issued by Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, chair of the Pag-IBIG Board of Trustees, for Pag-IBIG to extend assistance to members in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Dumaguete adversely affected by the typhoon.
Pag-IBIG Chief Darlene Marie Berberabe also said aside from the calamity loans, 261 affected member-borrowers have already filed for insurance claims for their homes as of December 20 last year.
Binay had announced during his visit to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan that members may avail of Pag-IBIG calamity loans and ask for the agency’s assistance in getting insurance claims for houses that were bought through Pag-IBIG housing programs.
The agency started accepting and processing calamity loan applications on December 19. It set up three mobile offices, dubbed Pag-IBIG on Wheels, to receive loan applications and to respond to queries regarding members’ benefits. Its Iligan branch also remained open despite the local government’s declaration of a non-working holiday due to the storm.
Meanwhile, the agency converted its annual Christmas and Anniversary get-together into a fundraising event for the Sendong survivors. Pag-IBIG donated P2 million worth of relief goods, including contributions from its employees.
The donations were distributed to 3,800 affected families in different evacuation centers in CDO and 1,600 families in Iligan. Additional relief items were turned over to the local government of Opol for distribution to 2,908 families.
Likewise, Pag-IBIG Cebu distributed relief goods to 1,158 families in Dumaguete. Additional relief goods for Valencia City were turned over to the LGU.
According to Berberabe, this is only one way in which the Pag-IBIG Fund responds to its mandate of providing a long term savings scheme and access to housing for its members. “These initiatives are meant to help them in their times of need, as well as to help them protect their long-term investments such as their homes,” she said.
In a meeting with key Cabinet officials Wednesday, the Vice President discussed plans for the relocation and resettlement of the typhoon survivors.
"We should not stop at merely giving relief goods. It is government's responsibility to give the victims a chance to rehabilitate their lives and start over again," he said.
"Hopefully, through the housing sectors partnership with the respective affected local governments, we will be able to provide those victims with a decent home that will also be resilient to changes in our climate," he added.