PAG-IBIG to go after erring employers

PAG-IBIG CHIEF EXECUTIVE officer Darlene Marie B. Berberabe has announced that the Fund will be intensifying its efforts to enforce the mandatory provision of Republic Act 9679. Under the said law (the Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 2009), membership in PagIBIG Fund is mandatory for all employers and employees covered and should be covered by the SSS and the GSIS.

By end of 2011, there are still some 250,000 employers around the country who are not registered with the Fund. “These employers are depriving their personnel of the benefits of membership in the Fund - benefits which include long term savings with better than usual earnings, access to housing finance, and easy access to short-term cash loans in times of need,” according to Berberabe.

To help enforce the law, PAG-IBIG has forged agreements with local government units which provides for making PAG-IBIG registration a pre-requisite to securing or renewing a business permit.

“We, however, recognize that some employers are unable to register with the Fund due to the accumulation of penalties on uncollected and unremitted contributions,” the PAG-IBIG CEO added. “Thus, PAG-IBIG is implementing a penalty condonation program for unregistered or delinquent employers beginning January 2 until June 30, 2012 only.” Since the program will only run for a limited period, Berberabe encourages employers who have yet to register with the Fund to take advantage of this program. “After June 30, we have no other recourse but to file cases against unregistered employers as part of the Fund’s Intensified Membership Enforcement and Collection Campaign (IMECC),” the CEO cautioned.

For more information on the PAG-IBIG Penalty Condonation Program for unregistered or delinquent employers, companies may call hotline 7244244 (for Metro Manila) or get in touch with the PAG-IBIG branch office nearest them. They may also email the secretariat at employerpencon@pagibigfund.gov.ph (end)