The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and the United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF) signed a partnership agreement to ensure the smooth and speedy
disbursement of pre-disaster financial aid to some 22,000 families in typhoon-prone
towns.
LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo and UNICEF Philippines
Representative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov led the ceremonial signing for a banking
services agreement for the pilot run of the United Nations Central Emergency
Response Fund (CERF) for Anticipatory Action on 06 October 2022 at the UNICEF
Philippines Office in Mandaluyong City.
They were joined by UNICEF Deputy Representative for Programs Behzad Noubary
and Deputy Representative for Operations Thomas Meyerer, alongside LANDBANK
Senior Vice President Marilou L. Villafranca, and Assistant Vice Presidents Domingo
Conrado G. Galsim and Renato R. Aquino.
Under the agreement, LANDBANK shall open an account on behalf of UNICEF for
deposit and maintenance of funds among various banking services, including the
crediting of multi-purpose cash transfers to the LANDBANK Prepaid Cards of
identified Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program beneficiaries.
“LANDBANK brings to the table our expertise as the distribution arm of the National
Government’s social protection programs. This includes our extensive experience of
delivering cash grants to the target sectors under the CCT and UCT (Unconditional
Cash Transfer) programs covering 10 million beneficiaries nationwide,” said
LANDBANK President and CEO Borromeo.
UNICEF Philippines Representative Dendevnorov said that the anticipatory approach
reduces the costs of humanitarian response and allows affected populations to make
informed decisions ahead of a humanitarian crisis.
“In this context, we can say that cash transfers provided through Financial Service
Providers (FSPs) like LANDBANK can improve the speed, efficacy and security of
humanitarian aid delivery,” said UNICEF Philippines Representative Dendevnorov.
Target beneficiaries under the pilot CERF for Anticipatory Action include families
residing in the municipalities of Baras, Bato, San Andres and Virac in Catanduanes,
as well as the municipalities of Catarman, Catubig, Gamay, Mondragon, and San
Roque in Northern Samar.
The cash assistance worth P1,000 for each CCT beneficiary will be disbursed via
LANDBANK Prepaid Cards, three days before the expected landfall of a Category 4 or
5 typhoon.
Beneficiaries can use the prepaid cards to withdraw cash assistance from LANDBANK
automated teller machines (ATMs) and Agent Banking Partners, and make cashless
purchases in groceries and drugstores via point-of-sale (POS) terminals.
LANDBANK recently upgraded the existing prepaid cards of the CCT beneficiaries
into transaction accounts with expanded features to provide more convenient
banking services, including cash card loading via LANDBANK branches, fund
transfers through the LANDBANK Mobile Banking App, and cash-in via LANDBANK
Cash Deposit Machines.
