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Saturday, September 17, 2005
Cebu’s poor can avail of P100M loan ’til December
By Aurelia l. Castro
Sun.Star Correspondent
With nearly 140,000 households as potential beneficiaries, a government-owned firm involved in micro-financing plans to release at least P100 million to qualified families in Cebu this year.
People’s Credit and Finance Corp. (PCFC) account management group for Visayas assistant vice president Jose Rico Coligado said they give priority to those involved in food processing, agri-based home projects, handicraft, cottage industry, service shops and ambulant vendors, including those selling dry goods, fish, vegetables, even barbecue.
He said of the 676,041 total households in Cebu province, 262,304 or 38.8 percent are considered poor.
Potential clients
Data from micro-finance institutions (MFIs) show that 83,960 poor households (32.01 percent of the total number of poor households in Cebu province) have availed of financing assistance. But there are still 139,379 households that MFIs consider as potential clients.
Based on the June 2005 report of 20 MFIs in Cebu, 57,269 of the 147,600 households in Cebu City are poor. Only 4,141 availed of micro-financing services, with 28,635 more as potential clients.
Lapu-Lapu City has 17,242 poor households out of a total 44,439. Coligado said 1,870 of them availed of micro-finance services.
Mandaue City has 21,294 poor households against a total of 54,882 and only 2,664 are served by MFIs.
In need
Coligado pointed out, though, that in the municipalities of Malabuyoc, Alcantara and Corodova all poor households availed of and qualified for micro-financing services.
The micro-finance services sector caters to those who are in need but are willing to work hard to overcome poverty, Coligado said.
MFIs offer financial loans with no collateral. However, it requires borrowers to comply with certain conditions, such as attending the orientation seminar and weekly meetings to determine their sincerity and willingness to work and earn a living.
PCFC, a government-owned micro-finance corporation under the supervision of Land Bank of the Philippines, finances 16 of the more than 20 MFIs in Cebu.
MFIs in Cebu are composed of cooperatives, rural banks and non-government organizations.
Continue
About P700 million have been released by different MFIs to 83,000 active borrowers for the first eight months of this year, Coligado said.
“We will continue our thrust of helping more poor households who will qualify, for them to make a decent living, improve their lives, and have a sense of hope,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fair Bank, one of the MFIs funded by PCFC, will celebrate today the third anniversary of its Kaabag Program, a micro-financing program for clients in northern Cebu.
Some 10,000 clients are expected to grace the event at the Don Celestino Martinez Sr. sports complex in Bogo, Coligado said.
MFIs in Cebu also joined the recently held Celebration of the International Year of Micro-credit 2005 at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel. (ALC)
(September 17, 2005 issue)
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