MANILA – In a move to improve the plight of more Filipino workers, the top executives of Pag-IBIG Fund have recently reminded employers to settle their obligations before its penalty condonation programs expire by mid-year.
“Pag-IBIG Fund continues to heed the call of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to provide social benefits to more Filipinos. Pag-IBIG savings is one of the workers’ benefits so this is why we are going after unregistered and delinquent employers who are not giving what is due to their employees. We are offering penalty condonation programs to employers to improve compliance. This way the employees get to enjoy their Pag-IBIG membership while we offer payment plans under our penalty condonation programs to ease the burden on employers. It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved,” said secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.
The Fund is currently offering two penalty condonation programs: one under Circular No. 416 for employers who did not deduct Pag-IBIG monthly savings from employees and another under Circular No. 411 for those who deducted monthly savings but did not remit these to Pag-IBIG Fund. Under the two Circulars, unregistered and delinquent employers will be given two payment options and terms that best suit their capacity.
Employers covered by Circular No. 411 only have until June 26, 2019 to settle while employers covered by Circular No. 416 only have until Aug. 13, 2019 to do so.
So far, more than 6,100 unregistered and delinquent employers availed of the penalty condonation programs. They have collectively remitted P260 million in monthly savings for over 194,000 employees who were previously deprived of the benefit. With the employers’ compliance, these employees now have an updated membership and can fully enjoy the benefits and services of Pag-IBIG Fund.
“Pag-IBIG Fund is offering the penalty condonation program to help employers comply with the law. Since 2017, we already helped delinquent employers save a total of P200 million in penalties. As we work to allow more workers to become members of the Fund, we want to make sure that their monthly savings are remitted properly and on time by their employers because it is their right. We would like to remind them that under RA 9679, saving for the future is a joint effort of employees and employers,” said Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti./PN
