State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) is doing its share to help ease the burden of local government units (LGUs) affected by the recent eruptive activities of Taal Volcano by donating financial assistance to calamity-stricken LGUs for their respective relief operations.
The Bank has provided a total of Php3.3 million in financial assistance to 44 LGUs in the Provinces of Batangas, Cavite and Laguna. The amount of donated funds varied depending on the extent of damage sustained by the LGU, in accordance with the Bank’s existing policies on donations.
“More than 150,000 residents have been displaced in communities surrounding Taal Volcano. They are now housed in hundreds of evacuation centers in nearby cities and municipalities. With the volume of evacuees, LGUs hosting these centers need all the help they can get. This is our way of supporting the LGUs, which are among the Bank’s most valued clients,” said President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo.
In Batangas, the Provincial Government led the recipients of the donation, together with the cities of Batangas, Lipa and Tanauan. Also receiving support were the municipalities of Agoncillo, Lemery, San Nicolas, Mataas na Kahoy, Balete, Talisay, Laurel, Taal, Cuenca, Calaca, Sta. Teresita, Bauan, Mabini, Alitagtag, Malvar, Sto. Tomas, San Luis, San Jose, Balayan, San Pascual, Nasugbu, Ibaan, Rosario, Tuy, San Juan, Lian, Padre Garcia, Calatagan, and Taysan.
The Bank also donated to the cities of Cabuyao, Sta. Rosa, Biñan, San Pedro and Calamba in Laguna, and is expected to donate within the week to the Provincial Government of Cavite, the City of Tagaytay, and the municipalities of Alfonso, Amadeo, Indang and Mendez.
Earlier, LANDBANK announced it has expanded its Calamity Rehabilitation Support (CARES) Program to provide financial support to more sectors severely affected by natural calamities such as the eruption of Taal Volcano, man-made disasters like armed conflicts, and viral infection outbreaks such as the African Swine Fever (ASF).
Under the enhanced CARES Program, individual small farmers and fishers, livestock raisers, large agri-enterprises (LAEs), salaried workers, and academic institutions such as schools, universities and colleges, have been added as eligible borrowers.
This complements the existing eligible borrowers under the Program, namely, LGUs, disaster-affected home owners, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), cooperatives, non-government organizations (NGOs), and partner financial institutions (PFIs) such as rural banks.
The Program consists of two types of credit assistance—rehabilitation/reconstruction credit program and rehabilitation through loan restructuring—which may be used for the repair of damaged facilities, construction or acquisition of new facilities and equipment, repair or purchase of housing units, working capital for agriculture production, and as capital for a lending facility of cooperatives, SMEs and NGOs for home and livelihood financing.
Meanwhile, LANDBANK’s Lemery Branch remains closed until further notice. However, its clients may transact with the Bank through the LANDBANK Bauan Branch or at any branch located in Batangas.
