PH franchising group eyes 12 to 15% industry growth Pag-IBIG Fund posts P80-B members’ savings in 2022

Pag-IBIG Fund on Wednesday said its members’ savings reached a “record-high” P80 billion last year, as the economy continues to grow despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jack Jacinto, Jr., Pag-IBIG Fund’s public affairs manager, said they also posted record-high housing loans at P117.85 billion in 2022. Some P53 billion for short-term cash loans were also released last year, which helped 2.6 million members.

“Malaking bagay yan ang pagbangon ng ekonomiya. Dumadami ang miyembro na naghuhulog sa Pag-IBIG fund at marami sa ating mga kababayan ay nakabalik na sa kanilang mga trabaho,” Jacinto said during a televised briefing.

“Mahalaga din diyan yung patuloy na pagtiwala ng ating mga miyembro sa Pag-IBIG fund sapagkat yung kanilang mga ipon ay patuloy nilang dinadagdagan at nilalakihan at pinagkakatiwala,” he said.

“[Ito ay] liban pa sa patuloy na pagbabayad ng ating mga miyembro sa kanilang mga housing loan at cash loans.”

Jacinto said Pag-IBIG had 1.4 national Expo from October 27 to 29, and a two-day Certified Franchise Executive Program at the Asian Institute of Management on June 5 and 6. million additional members last year, raising their total active members to 15.12 million.

ThePhilippine Franchise Association announced that it will host the World Franchise Council and Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation meetings this year.

Their MP2 (Modified PagIBIG II) Savings program also hit P39.82 billion in 2022, which is 54 percent increase from the previous record of P25.95 billion. The program is a voluntary savings program open to Pag-IBIG members who are active or under pension.

Members for the MP2 program, he said, also jumped to 1 million from around 600,000.

“Labis na ikinatutuwa sapagkat ito ang pinakamataas na hinulog ng ating mga miyembro sa ating MP2 program,” he said.

“Sa pamamagitan ng programang ito, kayo ay makakapag-ipon sa Pag-IBIG fund sa napakagaan na halaga na P500 to open an account. Maaari kayong mag-ipon anytime,” he added.

The Pag-IBIG Fund has deferred its planned contribution hike this year to mitigate the impact of rising costs on Filipinos.

The planned P100 contribution hike, which will be equally shared by the members and employers, was suspended until 2024.

The industry group said this aims to attract industry leaders from over 40 economies to take a long hard look at the Philippines as a new destination for their businesses.

Joseph Tanbuntiong, treasurer of Jollibee Foods Corporation, said the meetings will also help more Filipino brands expand outside of the Philippines.

“Franchising is another instrument for us to bring our Philippine brands outside the country. So with that, we don’t only export products from the Philippines, we actually export brands that started here in the Philippines.”

He said the meetings will boost PFA’s goal of having 50 Philippine brands outside the country.

The PFA said that there are currently 20 Philippine brands that have successfully expanded outside the country, and the goal is to repeat that success with 30 more brands.

Apart from the meetings, PFA is also hosting Franchise Asia Philippines 2023, which will include the International Conference on June 7 and 8, the Inter-

The conference will be a learning experience with seven plenary sessions and over 70 world-class industry speakers from brands like Jollibee, 7-Eleven, McDonald’s, Max’s Group, and Bo’s Coffee.

Aside from the target for Philippine brand exports, the PFA is also looking to expand the industry by 12 to 15 percent in terms of overall business expansion including store openings and employment. The PFA estimates the Philippine franchise sector employs around 2 million Filipinos around the country.

Udenna’s Eight8Ate eyes

Wendy’s, Conti’s store

Udenna Group’s food arm

Eight8Ate eyes expanding its brands Wendy’s and Conti’s store network to 200 this year, an official said on Wednesday.

Eight8Ate could hit 200 combined stores this year, after aggressively growing to over 160 branches during the COVID-19 pandemic, company President Joey Garcia said on the sidelines of the media