Pag-IBIG Fund
Corporate Headquarters
BDO Life MegaPlaza Bldg.,
358 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue,
Makati City
Circular No. 471
TO: ALL CONCERNED
SUBJECT: ENHANCED GUIDELINES ON THE Pag-IBIG HEALTH AND
EDUCATION LOAN PROGRAMS (Pag-IBIG HELPs)
Pursuant to the approval of the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees on 12 March 2025, the
following Enhanced Guidelines on the Pag-IBIG Health and Education Loan
Programs (HELPs) is hereby issued:
1. OBJECTIVES
This program aims to:
1.1 Provide additional benefits to Pag-IBIG members by extending financial
assistance in payment for educational and health-related expenses of the
member and/or his/her beneficiaries, and
1.2 Extend goodwill to our members.
2. COVERAGE
This Guidelines shall apply to all Pag-IBIG I members.
3. DEFINITION OF TERMS
For purpose of implementing this program, the following terms shall be defined as
follows:
3.1 Actual Need shall refer to educational or medical expenses, or cost of a
healthcare plan to be incurred by the borrower or beneficiary net of financial aid,
grant or discount.
3.2 An Active Local Member shall refer to a member with at least one (1) monthly
Membership Savings (MS) within the last six (6) months prior to loan application.
3.3 Active Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Member shall refer to an OFW
member with at least one (1) monthly Membership Savings (MS) within the
last twelve (12) months prior to loan application.
3.4 Aggregate Short-Term Loan (STL) Amount shall refer to the total STL (MPL,
HELPs, and Calamity Loan) amount a borrower can avail of from the Pag-IBIG
Fund.
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3.5 Authorized Deductions shall refer to deductions from the salaries,
emoluments, or other benefits accruing to any government employee, as
expressly allowed under the General Appropriations Act (GAA), and other
applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
3.6 Beneficiary shall refer to a person who shall benefit from the loan proceeds that
will be released under the Pag-IBIG HELPs in payment for products and
services offered by the education or medical institution, or Health Maintenance
Organizations (HMOs).
3.7 Desired Loan Amount shall refer to the amount indicated in the loan application
form.
3.8 Discount/Rebate shall refer to the amount allowed by the partner-merchant to
be deducted from the assessed costs of products or services that it will provide.
3.9 Educational Expenses shall refer to total fees charged by an educational
institution indicated in the assessment form.
3.10 Financial Aid/Grant shall refer to financial assistance or support provided by:
Partner schools’ scholarship programs, Government Scholarship Grant (DOST,
LGUs, etc), PhilHealth, PCSO, etc.
3.11 Grace Period shall refer to the period in addition to the loan term, except
for the 6-month loan term, reckoned from the Disbursement Voucher (DV)
date of the Pag-IBIG Health and Education Loan Programs (HELPs), during
which no penalty shall be imposed. This period is granted to provide the
member with reasonable time to prepare for and begin loan payments, in
consideration of fund release and payroll processing timelines
3.12 Healthcare Plan shall refer to any plan or organized format for delivering health
care services, such as but not limited to in-patient, out-patient, emergency,
preventive care, optional dental care, and other needs pertaining to the health
security of the member or his dependents/beneficiaries.
3.13 Medical Expenses shall include costs of diagnosis, treatment and other forms
of health care of patients, including but not limited to, doctor’s fees, fees for
clinical and ancillary services rendered, charges for room, meals, medical
supplies, medicines, and payments for use of equipment.
3.14 Monthly Amortization shall refer to the installment amount to be paid by the
borrower which shall cover the principal and interest.
3.15 Net Take Home Pay (NTHP) shall refer to the member's monthly compensation
net of statutory deductions, computed monthly repayment of monthly
amortizations for loan applied for, and authorized deductions.
3.16 Outstanding Loan Obligation shall consist of the outstanding principal,
interest, and penalties, if any.
3.17 Partner-merchant shall refer to Loyalty card-accredited educational and
medical institution, and health maintenance organizations.
3.18 Accredited Providers shall refer to educational and medical institution, and
health maintenance organizations accredited by the Fund through a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
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3.19 Sufficient Proof of Income shall refer to any document that establishes the
existence of income from employment, self-employment, or other lawful
sources, as required by the Fund for loan evaluation and approval.
3.20 Total Accumulated Value (TAV) shall refer to the aggregate amount of a
Pag-IBIG Fund member’s mandatory Membership Savings (MS),
comprising the member’s monthly MS, any upgraded MS, the employer’s
counterpart contributions, if applicable, and the dividends credited
thereon.
3.21 Total Savings refers to the sum of the monthly MS, including the upgraded MS,
if such is the case, and the employer’s counterpart, if any.
3.22 TAV Offsetting shall refer to the process of deducting from the member's TAV
the outstanding HELPs obligation.
4. LOAN PURPOSE
To provide loan facility to Pag-IBIG members in payment for the following, provided
that all the partner-merchants/providers are accredited by the Fund through a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA):
• Educational Expenses;
• Medical Expenses; and/or
• Healthcare Plan from HMOs accredited by the Fund.
5. BORROWER’S ELIGIBILITY
The program shall be open to a Pag-IBIG member who satisfies the following
requirements:
5.1 Has made at least twelve (12) monthly membership savings;
5.1.1 A member who has withdrawn his MS due to membership maturity, or
through optional withdrawal, may apply for Pag-IBIG HELPs, provided
that the member has subsequently accumulated twelve (12) monthly
MS or at least its equivalent, reckoned from the cut-off date of
membership maturity or optional withdrawal.
5.1.2 A member who does not meet the required twelve (12) monthly MS may
nevertheless be allowed to avail of Pag-IBIG HELPs, provided that the
total accumulated savings is at least equivalent to twelve (12) monthly
MS, based the rate applicable to the member.
5.2 Is an active Pag-IBIG Fund member at time of loan application;
5.3 If with existing MPL/Calamity Loan/HELPs, the account/s must not be in default
as of date of application; and
5.4 Submission of sufficient proof of income.
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6 LOAN AMOUNT
A qualified Pag-IBIG Fund member shall be allowed to borrow an amount based on
the lowest of the following: desired loan amount, loan entitlement, capacity-to-pay.
6.1 Desired Loan Amount
6.2 Loan Entitlement
6.2.1. Equivalent to ninety percent (90%) of the member’s TAV.
6.2.2. However, if the borrower has an existing MPL/ Calamity Loan/HELPs, the
loanable amount shall be the difference between ninety percent (90%) of
the borrower’s TAV and the outstanding balance of his MPL/ Calamity
Loan/HELPs.
6.3 Capacity-to-Pay
The loanable amount shall be limited to an amount which will not render the
borrower's Net Take Home Pay (NTHP) to fall below the minimum requirement
as prescribed by the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or company policy,
whichever is applicable.
6.4 Actual Need
7 INTEREST RATE
The loan shall be charged with an interest rate of 1.4583% per month, based on a
diminishing balance method, with interest during the grace period, and shall be
amortized over the chosen term.
8 LOAN PERIOD
The loan shall be repaid over a period of six (6) months, twelve (12) months, twenty-
four (24) months or thirty-six (36) months at the option of the borrower. No grace
period shall be applied for the six (6) months loan term, while other loan terms shall
have two (2) months grace period.
However, in the event that the borrower does not indicate the chosen loan term, the
default term shall be two (2) years.
9 LOAN PAYMENTS
9.1 The loan shall be paid in equal monthly installments in such amounts as may
fully cover the principal and interest over the loan period. Said amortization shall
be made, whenever feasible, through salary deduction.
9.2 For self-employed individuals, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), or other
types of individual payors, monthly payments shall be paid over-the-counter,
through Virtual Pag-IBIG, or any other modes of payment approved by the Fund.
9.3 HELPs Application Number must be indicated in the remittance form.
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9.4 Payments shall be remitted to the Pag-IBIG Fund on or before the fifteenth
(15th) day of each month, starting on the next month following the DV/check or
manual disbursement voucher for loan releases with loan term of six (6) months.
9.5 Payments shall be remitted to the Pag-IBIG Fund on or before the fifteenth (15th)
day of each month, commencing on the third (3rd) month from the date
indicated on the Disbursement Voucher/Check or manual disbursement
voucher for loan releases with loan terms of twelve (12), twenty-four (24), and
thirty-six (36) months.
9.6 If the due date falls on a non-working day, the monthly amortization shall be
paid on the first working day after the due date.
9.7 The borrower may fully pay the outstanding balance of the loan prior to loan
maturity.
9.8 The borrower shall pay directly to the Pag-IBIG Fund or its accredited collecting
agents in case the borrower is unable to pay through salary deduction due to
any of the following circumstances, such as but not limited to:
9.8.1 Suspension from work;
9.8.2 Leave of absence without pay;
9.8.3 Insufficiency of take home pay at any time during the term of the loan;
or
9.8.4 Other circumstances analogous to the foregoing.
10 PENALTIES
10.1 A penalty of one-twentieth of one percent (1/20 of 1%) of any unpaid amount
shall be charged to the borrower for every day of delay.
10.2 For borrowers paying through salary deduction, penalties shall only be
reversed upon presentation of proof that non-payment was due to the fault of
the employer. In such case, penalties due from the borrower shall be charged
to the employer.
Non-remittance of the total loan amortization shall likewise subject the
employer with an additional penalty of one-tenth of one percent (1/10 of 1%)
per day of delay of the amounts payable from the date the loan amortizations
or payments fall due until paid.
11 APPLICATION OF PAYMENTS
11.1 Payments shall be applied according to the following order of priorities:
11.1.1 Penalties; if any
11.1.2 Interest; and
11.1.3 Principal.
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11.2 Any amount in excess of the required monthly amortizations shall be applied
to succeeding amortizations which will be posted on the next due date.
12 DEFAULT
The borrower shall be in default in any of the following cases, without need for
demand:
12.1 Any willful misrepresentation made by the borrower in any of the documents
executed in relation hereto;
12.2 Failure of the borrower to pay any three (3) consecutive monthly
amortizations;
12.3 Failure of the borrower to pay any three (3) consecutive Pag-IBIG monthly
savings;
12.4 Violation by the borrower of any of the membership/STL/housing loan
policies, rules, regulations and guidelines of Pag-IBIG Fund.
13 EFFECTS OF DEFAULT
In the event of default, the outstanding loan obligation shall become due and
demandable. Without the need for demand, the Fund shall offset the
outstanding loan obligation from the borrower’s TAV.
14 OTHER PROVISIONS
14.1 Multiple Employers
14.1.1 An eligible member who is an active member under more than one
employer shall have only one outstanding Pag-IBIG HELPs at any given
time.
14.1.2 At point of application, the member shall choose which employer shall
deduct and remit his Pag-IBIG HELPs amortization.
14.2 Aside from submitting a duly accomplished application form, the borrower shall
be required to submit additional documents corresponding to the loan purpose:
14.2.1 For Educational Expenses
- An assessment form or its equivalent (in original copy) from the
educational institution.
- Student ID indicating the Student ID number
14.2.2 For Medical Expenses
- Statement of account/hospital bill, net of PhilHealth and discounts.
14.2.3 For Healthcare Plan from accredited HMO
- An assessment form from the accredited HMO
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14.3 The Pag-IBIG HELPs, MPL and/or Calamity Loan Program shall be treated as
separate and distinct from one another. Accordingly, a member may avail of
HELPs even with an existing MPL/Calamity Loan, and vice versa. Loan
applications under these programs shall be governed by their respective
guidelines.
14.4 In no case shall the aggregate STL exceed 90% of the borrower's TAV.
14.5 Loan Renewal
14.5.1 For all loan terms, a borrower may renew his/her HELPs:
14.5.1.1 After payment equivalent to four (4) monthly amortizations;
14.5.1.2 Except for accounts with a6-month loan term, not earlier
than sixth (6th) month after DV date of current loan; and
14.5.1.3 Provided that he/she meets the eligibility in this Guidelines.
14.5.2 Any outstanding Pag-IBIG HELPs obligation shall be deducted from the
approved loan and the net proceeds shall be released to the partner-
merchant.
14.5.3 In case of full payment prior to loan maturity, a borrower shall be allowed
to apply for a new loan anytime thereafter.
14.6 Immediate Offsetting against Borrower’s TAV
A borrower may request for the immediate offsetting of an outstanding HELPs
balance against the borrower's TAV. The offsetting shall be effected upon
approval of the request, provided, that it is based on any of the following
justifiable reasons:
14.6.1 Total disability or insanity;
14.6.2 Separation from service by reason of health;
14.6.3 Death of borrower’s immediate family member;
14.6.4 Distressed member due to unemployment limited to layoff and/or
closure of company;
14.6.5 Critical illness of the borrower or any immediate family member, as
certified by a licensed physician under any of the following categories,
subject to the approval of the Fund:
• Cancer
• Organ Failure
• Heart-Related Illness
• Stroke
• Neuromuscular-Related Illness
14.6.6 Repatriation of OFW borrower from host country; and
14.6.7 Other meritorious grounds as may be approved for by the Board.
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A member whose TAV was offset due to any of the above justifiable reasons
may apply for HELPs at anytime, subject to eligibility requirements under this
Guidelines.
14.7 Availment of Pag-IBIG HELPs after TAV offsetting
If TAV offsetting has been effected on the borrower's defaulting Pag-IBIG
HELPs, he may apply for a new HELPs subject to the following conditions:
14.7.1 For six (6) months loan term, if the borrower has paid at least four (4)
monthly amortizations prior to default and its consequent offsetting
against the borrower’s TAV, the borrower may immediately apply for a
new loan, subject to the eligibility criteria provided in this Guidelines.
14.7.2 For other loan terms, if the borrower paid at least six (6) monthly
amortizations prior to default and its consequent offsetting against the
borrower’s TAV, the member may immediately apply for another loan,
subject to the eligibility criteria provided in this Guidelines.
14.7.3 If the borrower has paid less than four (4) or six (6) monthly
amortizations based on loan term prior to default and its consequent
offsetting against the borrower’s TAV, the member may apply for a new
loan only after one (1) year from date of TAV offsetting, subject to the
eligibility criteria provided in this Guidelines.
However, if the TAV offsetting was made due to any justifiable reason as
provided under this Guidelines, the member may immediately apply for a
new loan, subject to the eligibility requirements.
14.8 Membership Termination
14,8.1 In the event of membership termination prior to loan maturity, any
outstanding loan obligation shall be deducted from the borrowers TAV,
and/or any amount due the member or the member’s beneficiaries
that is in the possession of the Fund.
14.8.2 In case of borrower’s death, the outstanding loan obligation shall be
computed up to the date of death. Any payment received after the date
of death shall be refunded to the borrower’s beneficiaries.
15 TRANSITORY PROVISION
A borrower with an approved HELPs under the preceding guidelines (Circular
No. 445) may avail of a new loan under this Guidelines: provided, the borrower
meets the eligibility requirements under Item 5 hereof; provided further, that
the loan application is filed within six (6) months from the effectivity of this
guidelines.
16 AMENDMENTS
Amendments to this Guidelines shall be approved by the Senior Management
Committee pursuant to the authority bestowed on it by the Fund’s Board of Trustees
to formulate and issue guidelines and procedures in furtherance of the objectives of
this program consistent with the mandate of the Fund under its Charter and existing
laws.
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17 MECHANISM ON RESOLUTION OF ISSUES
Any issue in the interpretation and implementation of this Guidelines shall, as much
as possible, be resolved by the concerned officer. Matters that are not thereby
satisfactorily resolved shall be escalated to the next higher approving authority.
18 REPEALING CLAUSE
Pag-IBIG Fund Circular No. 445 and all other memoranda, rules, regulations, and
other issuances contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Guidelines are
hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
19 EFFECTIVITY
This Circular takes effect after fifteen (15) calendar days following the completion of
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
pNE C. ACOSTA
Executive Officer
Makati City,
30 April 2025
