Death Notice Publication Cost for Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Transfer

A comprehensive legal-practice note for the Philippine setting (2025 edition)

1. Why a “death notice” matters to Pag-IBIG loans

When a Pag-IBIG Fund (HDMF) housing-loan borrower dies, three parallel actions usually follow:

Track	Purpose	Key office
a. Mortgage Redemption Insurance (MRI) claim	To extinguish, fully or partly, the outstanding loan balance.	Pag-IBIG Servicing Department (MRI Unit)
b. Transfer or assumption of loan	Heir/s or a buyer takes over the loan when MRI does not fully settle it, or when the estate prefers to keep paying to preserve the property.	Pag-IBIG Housing Business Center (HBC)
c. Settlement of the estate	To move ownership from the deceased to heirs and register title changes.	Register of Deeds, BIR, LGU Assessor

The “death notice publication” springs from track c. Philippine estate law (Rule 74 §1, Rules of Court) compels heirs who use an affidavit of self-adjudication or a deed of extra-judicial settlement (EJS) to:

“…cause the same to be published in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks.”

Pag-IBIG does not itself publish the notice, but it requires the heirs’ EJS and the newspaper proofs before it will annotate the transfer on the loan records and issue the Notice of Approved Transfer/Assumption.

2. Legal bases at a glance

Rule 74, Rules of Court – publication requirement for self-adjudication or EJS.
Civil Code arts. 774-781 – transmission of property upon death, rights of heirs.
RA 9679 (HDMF Charter) and implementing rules – authority of Pag-IBIG to set housing-loan guidelines.
Pag-IBIG Circulars (e.g., HDMF Circular No. 396, s. 2022, and earlier No. 247, s. 2018) – list “Deed of EJS with publication proofs” among documents for loan assumption.
NIRC 1997, as amended – estate-tax obligations; BIR will not issue Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) without proof of publication when Rule 74 applies.

3. Typical cost components (Metro Manila example, 2025)

Cost item	Low-end* (₱)	High-end** (₱)	Notes
Newspaper legal ad (3 insertions)	3 000	12 000	Dependent on broadsheet vs. tabloid, column-inch length, presence of graphics.
Notarial fee for EJS	1 000	5 000	May rise if several heirs sign separately.
BIR estate-tax certification & CAR	—	—	Paid separately; not part of “publication cost” but often processed in the same window.
Courier/handling	300	1 000	If heirs are overseas or documents move between provinces.

* Community tabloids outside NCR occasionally offer promos as low as ₱2 000 total. ** High-circulation broadsheets on Sundays command premium rates.

Rule of thumb: One column-inch in a national broadsheet ≈ ₱1 000 per insertion in 2025; a typical EJS takes 3-4 column-inches. Multiply by 3 weeks to estimate the bill.

4. Factors that push costs up or down

Choice of newspaper Broadsheet vs. regional daily. All courts accept any paper classified by the Bureau of Posts / OPS as “general circulation” within the province where the property lies.
Length of deed caption Short titles (“In re: EJS of the Estate of …”) save column space. Full deeds need not be published—only the caption plus substance (Rule 74 allows a summary).
Late submission‐surcharge Some dailies charge +10–20 % if the heir’s deadline is <24 data-preserve-html-node="true" h before press time.
Bundled services Law offices sometimes package drafting, notarization, and publication, shaving 5-10 % off the combined price.
Province different from borrower’s residence If the property sits in Laguna but heirs reside in Manila, choose a Laguna‐based paper to avoid the stricter validation of venue and usually lower provincial ad rates.

5. Step-by-step guide to arranging the publication

Draft Deed of EJS or Affidavit of Self-Adjudication (use standard forms; list loan details and TCT/CCT numbers).
Notarize in the locality of principal residence or where property is located.
Select newspaper
- Ask the clerk of court or Register of Deeds for an updated list, or check the paper’s “legal notices” page header, which states its general-circulation certification.
Submit the notice
- Provide soft copy (Word/PDF) and notarized deed.
- Pay in cash or via bank transfer; keep the Official Receipt (OR).
Retrieve proofs
- After each insertion, the paper issues a publisher’s affidavit and the tear sheets (physical or e-file).
Compile for Pag-IBIG
- Attach all proofs plus the Deed when you file the Assumption/Transfer of Rights request at the Pag-IBIG branch servicing the loan.

Timeline: Most dailies start counting Week 1 on the Sunday or Monday closest to payment confirmation. Full three-week “run” plus release of the publisher’s affidavit takes ≈ 25-30 days.

6. Interface with Pag-IBIG’s own fees

Pag-IBIG does not charge for publication. However, the processing fee for a housing-loan transfer (currently ₱1 000 for assumption, ₱2 000 if there is a substitution of borrower) is paid after the heirs submit their EJS and publication proofs. Mortgage Redemption Insurance settlement, if applicable, is handled independently and is free unless medical contestability issues arise.

7. Practical tips from practitioners

Condense the notice – The Rules require only the “substance” of the deed. Omitting recitals can shrink the ad from 6 to 3 inches.
Ask for block rate – Some tabloids quote a discounted flat rate for the full three-week series.
Combine multiple estates – If both spouses died and the properties are identical, a single deed and single publication suffice.
Mind the 2-year MRI contestability – If the borrower died within 2 years of loan take-out, the insurer investigates. Delay your EJS publication until the MRI decision, or you may pay ad fees only to find the loan extinguished anyway.
Digital‐only “papers” – As of 2025, most courts still require print; purely online news portals rarely qualify. Check first.
Keep at least three certified photocopies of each tear sheet; Pag-IBIG, BIR, and the Register of Deeds file do not share documents.

8. Frequently-asked questions

Question	Short answer
Can we skip publication if there is only one heir?	No. Even a self-adjudication under Rule 74 must be published 3 times.
Our loan is fully covered by MRI; do we still publish?	Yes, if you intend to transfer the title to heirs and lift the mortgage annotation.
Do we publish in the Official Gazette?	No. The Gazette is for legislative notices; estate EJS uses newspapers.
Cost if property is in Mindanao?	Provincial rates avg. ₱600–₱900 per inch, so ≈ ₱2 000–₱6 000 total.
What if an heir is abroad?	Publish as usual; the overseas heir may sign via consular acknowledgment or SPA.

9. Bottom-line estimates (2025)

Budget ₱4 000–₱6 000 for most provincial cases.
Prepare ₱8 000–₱15 000 for Metro Manila broadsheets or urgent insertions.

Add these to Pag-IBIG’s transfer-processing fee and miscellaneous notarization/BIR costs to forecast the estate’s cash-outlay.

Conclusion

In the Philippine system, the death-notice publication obligation is anchored in court rules on estate settlement—not in Pag-IBIG regulations themselves. Yet, because Pag-IBIG insists on seeing the published deed before it can recognize a new borrower or beneficiary, understanding and budgeting for newspaper legal-ad rates is essential to a smooth housing-loan transfer. With proper planning—choosing the right newspaper, trimming the notice text, and bundling services with counsel—families can keep the publication cost within a predictable range and complete the Pag-IBIG transfer in as little as six weeks after a borrower’s death.