Pag-IBIG Fund nearly tripled its financing for socialized housing in the first nine months of 2026, as subsidized interest rates under the government’s Expanded 4PH Program helped expand access to homeownership for low-income Filipino families.
Socialized housing loan releases jumped to P12.10 billion from P4.45 billion a year earlier, financing 10,904 homes against 3,987 in the same period of 2025.
The increase followed the introduction of a 3 percent interest rate for qualified borrowers under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program, which seeks to make monthly housing payments more affordable.
Socialized housing’s share of Pag-IBIG’s total housing financing also rose to nearly 16 percent, more than double the 7 percent recorded a year earlier. The shift suggests that lower-cost financing is reaching a larger portion of the fund’s housing portfolio, although sustained affordability will also depend on borrowers’ incomes, property prices and loan eligibility.
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling said the figures reflected the program’s impact on housing affordability, particularly for minimum-wage earners and low-income households.
“What is especially encouraging is that more minimum wage and low-income workers are becoming homeowners, while our expanded financing options are also opening more opportunities for members in the middle-income sector,” Aliling said.
The Expanded 4PH Program covers condominiums, house-and-lot packages, residential lots, rental housing and community mortgage arrangements, broadening the range of housing options available to eligible borrowers.
Pag-IBIG also offers promotional interest rates of 4.5 percent for loans of up to P4.9 million and 5.75 percent for loans of up to P10 million, subject to applicable conditions.
Across its housing portfolio, the fund financed 68,514 homes worth P111.29 billion in the first nine months of 2026, representing year-on-year increases of 15 percent in units and 20 percent in loan value.
The figures point to stronger housing finance activity, while the longer-term test will be whether increased lending translates into durable, affordable homeownership for households traditionally priced out of the market.
