Alternative Loan Sources for Those Who are Not Qualified for RA 11496

Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke, many countries were forced to issue emergency programs. President Rodrigo Duterte issued Republic Act No. 11469 to allow the President to exercise powers that will help manage the crisis.

What is the Republic Act No. 11469?

[An act declaring the existence of a national emergency arising from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation and a national policy in connection therewith, and authorizing the President of the Republic of the Philippines for a limited period and subject to restrictions, to exercise powers necessary and proper to carry out the declared national policy and for other purposes.]

One of the goals of the Republic Act is to provide additional funding to affected sectors. In this case, cash loan philippines are being provided for GSIS employees who have been in service for 15 years. What is the purpose of the loan? The loan is aimed at providing financial aid for GSIS members who have relatives still studying in college. It’s essentially a study now, pay later program.

The term of the loan is quite forgiving as the borrowers don’t have to pay anything for the first five years. This is according to the GSIS president and general manager Rolando Ledesma Macaset. Since most bachelor’s degrees are 4 years, at least the students and parents don’t have to worry about their tuition fees for the duration of their studies.

They call this the GSIS Financial Assistance Loan-Education Loan (GFAL-EL). The terms of the loan are as follows.

1. For each academic year, a borrower can only take out a loan, not more than PHP 100,000.00 to cover tuition fees along with other related fees.
2. The interest rate is 8%.
3. A qualified GSIS member can nominate up to two student-beneficiaries.
4. The student or students must be related up to the 3rd degree of consanguinity or affinity.
5. The Bachelor course must not exceed five years, regardless if it’s in a private or public educational institution.
6. There has to be an insurance cover or as Macasaet states: “The loan has an insurance cover to protect the interest of the borrowers and their student-beneficiaries. Thus, it will be deemed fully paid in case the (GSIS) member or the student dies or becomes permanently and totally disabled.”
7. The GSIS member must be a part of a GSIS branch that is not under a suspended status.
8. The GSIS member must meet the required PHP 5,000.00 take-home pay, after all the necessary deductions.

There are other programs still that have been launched throughout the outbreak and lockdowns, all aimed at helping the most disadvantaged groups in society. Unfortunately, not everyone can be given these kinds of opportunities and thus, will have to go out there to look for financial aid. Fortunately, there are services out there that offer loans without having to meet special requirements such as the ones stated in the aforementioned program.

Digido.ph is a service that allows borrowers to take out a loan especially in times of emergency with requirements that are even less stringent than mainstream banks.

When applying for a online loan there are two main categories: new and regular customers. The loan for a new client lasts from 7 to 15 days, and the maximum amount that can be taken on credit is PHP 10,000.00 with an interest rate of 1.5% per day. Now there is a campaign, according to the rules of which a new client can arrange a loan on the Digido site at 0%. This rule applies only to new clients who do not have a personal account on the Digido site.

Regular customers can apply for a loan of up to 30 days, the amount up to 25000 pesos. The interest rate will depend on the loan amount and its duration. If you have already taken a Digido loan, then you do not need to re-register and fill out a profile. Just select the term, loan amount and wait for a response. More than 90% of clients get a positive decision on the loan.