PAG-IBIG Fund’s response to aid members and stakeholders cope with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic won a gold award under the Most Valuable Government Response category in the recently concluded 2021 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.
The agency also bagged two bronze awards for its efforts to protect its employees’ welfare amid the pandemic under the Most Exemplary Employer category and for the Pag-IBIG Fund 2019 Digital Corporate Annual Report under the Innovation in Annual Reports category.
The Stevie Awards is considered one of the world’s premier business awards, which honors the innovations and achievements of organizations worldwide. It includes among its judges many of the world’s top business leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, innovators, and executives. The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards recognize innovation in the workplace in all 29 nations of the Asia-Pacific region. Over 900 nominations were received by the award-giving body for this year.
“We at Pag-IBIG Fund recognize our mandates and the role we play in helping our members, stakeholders, and the nation cope and recover from the challenges brought about by the pandemic. That is why we immediately moved to implement programs and policies to respond to their needs while taking care of our own employees’ welfare. These are Pag-IBIG Fund’s contributions to our nation’s recovery efforts, led by President Duterte, during these challenging times,” said Sec. Eduardo del Rosario, head of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board.
Pag-IBIG Fund’s gold Stevie Award was for its Alagang Pag-IBIG: Helping the Nation Recover from COVID-19 campaign, in recognition of the agency’s COVID-19 response to help address the needs of its members and stakeholders amid the health crisis.
The agency’s response to the health crisis in 2020 aided nearly 4.8 million members with home loans and cash loans by automatically providing them with grace periods totaling six months in accordance with the Bayanihan I and II Acts. The agency also aided 320,406 borrowers through its three-month moratorium on loan payments, offered a day after an enhanced community quarantine was initially implemented in the country. The agency also offered a Special Housing Loan Restructuring Program, which allowed 85,440 members to get better payment terms on their home loans.
Pag-IBIG’s response was not limited to benefit its existing borrowers alone. The agency deployed programs to aid in the recovery of the Philippine economy through a stimulus in the housing industry. A P10 billion home construction fund was made available to accredited developers to encourage production and boost the supply of housing units, while home loan promo rates were offered to members to encourage demand. These allowed housing industry players to maintain operations and continue generating jobs.
Meanwhile, its Pag-IBIG You Can Count On: The Pag-IBIG Fund COVID-19 Communication Program was recognized with a bronze award for its achievements in keeping the agency’s employees safe while delivering service to members during the pandemic. The Pag-IBIG Fund 2019 Digital Corporate Annual Report: Serving the Nation with Excellence and Innovation also bagged a bronze award for its innovative features and as the first-ever virtual annual report among government institutions in the Philippines.
“We have always committed ourselves to bring the Lingkod Pag-IBIG brand of service – Tapat na Serbisyo, Mula sa Puso – to our members and stakeholders. We are honored to have been recognized by the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards for our COVID-19 response, as well as for our efforts to keep our employees safe amid the pandemic and in bringing forth innovation in our annual report. These awards are a testament to our commitment to continuously provide excellent and innovative service, especially during these challenging times,” said Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti./PN
