The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) has announced the availability of low-interest, no-collateral loan packages for farmers and fishermen in Palawan who were severely impacted by Typhoon Odette in December of last year.
The state-owned universal bank made the announcement through its local officials during the provincial board’s inquiry hour, where they discussed possible help for fishermen and farmers affected by the typhoon.
Landbank West Branch manager Joy Badenas said they will provide up to P50,000 financial loan per hectare with a two percent annual loan rate to farmers.
Apart from farmers, the bank is also lending up to 90 percent of the entire cost of their projects to coconut and cashew planters and fishermen.
“Ang Landbank ay mayroong project para sa mga farmers. Ang magandang balita ay walang collateral at last year pa ito nagsimula. Sa ating mga rice farmers, ito ay P50,000 kapag hybrid per hectare at pag in-breed po yata ay P40,000 with 2% interest lang per annum,” Badenas said.
“Certification lamang ng barangay kapitan na sila ay nagsasaka sa lugar na ‘yon. Pangalawa, para sa mga coconut at kasoy farmers, at mga mangingisda na nasiraan ng bangka, 90% ng project cost ipi-finance ng Land Bank,” she added.
She added that applicants simply have to submit a few documents in order to qualify for the loan.
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Aside from the loan package, the bank also provided P100,000 in financial support to each of the 23 municipalities, P150,000 to the city government of Puerto Princesa, and P200,000 to the provincial government before the end of 2021 to help residents affected by the typhoon.
Last week, board member David Francis Ponce de Leon initiated the move to invite Landbank, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to the question hour of the provincial board to provide updates on assistance available to fishermen and coconut farmers.
“Dapat malaman ng ating kababayan na mayroong mga assistance para sa kanila na puwede nilang mai-avail para kahit papaano ay makabangon ang kanilang mga kabuhayan,” he said during the inquiry.
