The Manila Times
MANILA, Philippines – Over 50, 000 beneficiaries under the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) stand to enjoy the three-month moratorium it set on housing payments to help mitigate the impact of the Middle East war. Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling made the announcement on Wednesday following his meeting with NHMFC officials led by its president, Renato Tobias. “In response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s call for a whole-of-government approach amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East that is affecting many including our country, we are now implementing shelter-related financial relief programs, including that from NHMFC,” Aliling said. NHMFC is one of DHSUD’s attached key shelter agencies. Under the NHMFC moratorium program, all eligible borrowers nationwide will automatically be covered for a three-month period from May 1 to July 31, 2026, without the need to file an application. The DHSUD reiterated that over 50,000 member-beneficiaries could avail of the moratorium. The relief measure allows borrowers to temporarily suspend their monthly amortization payments without incurring penalties or additional interest. Loan terms will be correspondingly extended based on the duration of the moratorium, according to the NHMFC chief. Complementing this initiative, Aliling, who heads Pag-IBIG Fund’s board of trustees, said that it has also approved a special benefits package for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were repatriated due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Under the benefits package, qualified OFW members may apply to withdraw up to 100 percent of their Pag-IBIG Regular Savings, including their employee share, employer share, and dividends earned, even before its 20-year maturity. They can also withdraw up to 100 percent of their Modified Pag-IBIG II or MP2 Savings, inclusive of returns earned, even before its five-year maturity or avail of a three-month moratorium on Pag-IBIG Housing Loan payments, free from interest and penalties, with the loan term extended by three months, the housing czar said. Records showed that Pag-IBIG Fund has close to 900,000 registered OFW members in the Middle East as of February this year. The DHSUD chief stressed that the combined interventions from NHMFC and Pag-IBIG Fund form part of a broader strategy to safeguard Filipino families from the economic pressures brought about by the energy crisis, while also supporting vulnerable sectors such as repatriated OFWs.
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