As a direct response to the recent typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic activity that devastated various parts of the county, as well as the African Swine Fever (ASF) that swept the hog-raising industry, Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) announced that it has expanded its rehabilitation assistance program to help more victims to get back on their feet in areas officially declared as calamity/disaster and disease/viral infection outbreak areas.
The Bank’s expanded LBP CARES Program can provide financial support to more sectors that are severely affected by natural and man-made calamities/disasters (i.e. armed conflicts) and viral infection outbreaks, including victims of last Sunday’s eruption of Taal Volcano that continuously creates widespread devastation to surrounding communities.
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, local government unit (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 CARES Program supports government’s continuing effort to restore economic and social activities in calamity-stricken areas. It assists both the local government and private sector in their respective rehabilitation efforts. By enhancing the Program, LANDBANK is intensifying its support to small farmers and fishers, especially hog raisers who were hit the hardest by the recent ASF outbreak,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo.
First launched in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, the CARES Program is available to existing and new clients of the Bank who have been severely affected by calamities, including armed conflicts, in areas that were officially declared as under a state of calamity by the national or local government.
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.
For more information, interested borrowers may contact LANDBANK’s 24/7 customer service hotline at (02) 8-405-7000 or at PLDT Domestic Toll Free 1-800-10-405-7000, or visit the nearest LANDBANK Lending Center located nationwide.
