Pag-IBIG Fund Membership Must for Qatar Overseas Filipino Workers

The Pag-IBIG Fund membership has been made mandatory for all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as a pre-requisite for the issuance of an overseas employment certification, a Philipine Embassy spokesperson has disclosed.

The Pag-IBIG Fund is a convenient savings system for the Filipino workers through monthly contributions, that earn annual dividends, which are credited to the member’s account.

The new development has necessitated the signing of a collection agreement between the Fund and the Philippines Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), which provides OFWs leaving the Philippines with a more convenient registration system as well as an accessible and affordable remittance facility.

Under the agreement, the POEA collects Pag-IBIG membership contributions of P100 from OFWs going abroad as provided for under the 2010 collection servicing agreement between the agency and the Pag-IBIG Fund.

The Fund’s desk in the Philippine Overseas Labour office in Bin Omran area collects contributions and registers members in Qatar.

Continue reading at Gulf Times

Pag-IBIG Holds Membership Drive in Kuala Lumpur

The Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), more popularly known as the Pag-IBIG Fund, in cooperation with the Office of the Labor Attaché of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, organized the Pag-IBIG Fund overseas Filipino workers (OFW) Day held at the Filipino Workers’ Resource Center (FWRC) in Kuala Lumpur on August 21.

The event was part of Pag-IBIG’s information and membership campaign for OFWs as mandated by law in Republic Act 9679, otherwise known as the Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 2009. The new law, which took effect in January 2010, requires all land- and sea-based OFWs to become mandatory members of the Fund.

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pag-IBIG Fund Darlene Marie B. Berberabe headed the Pag-IBIG Fund team to Kuala Lumpur that included Senior Vice President for Housing Operations Sector Ophelia L. Dela Cerna, Vice-President for International Operations Group Amado Isabelo Dizon III, Special Assistant to the Corporate Head II Nanette T. Abilay, and Pag-IBIG Overseas Program (POP) Information Officer in Singapore Eric E. Elloso.

The team also brought along with them accredited real estate property developers from the Philippines to market their various middle- and low-cost housing projects in Quezon City, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna and Bulacan.

Pag-IBIG members can avail themselves of a housing loan when purchasing the housing units built by Borland Development Corporation, Charles Builders Group of Companies and Homemark Incorporated. Charles Builders Group of Companies gave away flat screen television sets and air-conditioner units for those who purchased housing units from them during the one-day event.

In her opening remarks, Labor Attaché Dr. Alicia D. Santos thanked the OFWs who attended the Pag-IBIG Fund OFW Day. She urged them to invest with the Pag-IBIG Fund as part of their savings and reintegration plan in preparation for their eventual return to the Philippines for good.

In her message, Pag-IBIG Fund President and CEO Atty. Berberabe urged OFWs to register and invest with the Fund. She invited them to avail themselves of the many Pag-IBIG Fund programs, among others, housing loan, savings program and short-term loans.

Continue reading at Philippine Star