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Saturday, November 22, 2003
P1-B infused for Mindanao loan programs
By Christie Enriquez-Uayan
SOME P1.022 billion has been released by the People's Credit and Finance Corporation (PCFC) to fund several micro-financing loan programs in Mindanao, PCFC president and Chief Executive Officer Iluminada Cabigas announced recently.
"We have more than one hundred thousand beneficiaries in Mindanao alone," Cabigas told reporters, adding that beneficiaries of micro-financing schemes are mostly women considered as the "enterprising poor".
In Mindabao, the Caraga area, comprising the provinces of Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Norte received the highest amount of loan extension. The amount, according to Cabigas, reached P416.4 million, benefitting 57,325 clients.
Caraga Region is one of the country's poorest areas and poverty level is pegged at more or less 70 percent.
Southern Mindanao, meanwhile, is the second highest recipient of micro-financing loans from PCFC in Mindanao, receiving a total of P192.49 million, Cabigas also reported.
Some 55,148 clients of micro-financing in Northern Mindanao have also accessed to a total of P153.43 million in loans as of September.
Amid recurring armed conflict in Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato in Central Mindanao, PCFC was able to extend loans totaling P114.44 million to 18,786 borrowers in the area.
In Western Mindanao, a total of P90.82 million has been released, benefiting 16,210 impoverished individuals.
But Cabigas admitted having difficulty in implementing micro-financing programs for women and poor farmers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
She said as of September, only P24.83 million has been released.
"Mahina kasi konti lang ang na-identify namin na viable ventures na pwede nilang pasukan, eh" the PCFC Chief explained.
Meanwhile, Cabigas admitted the government is mulling the privatization of the micro-financing institution due to inadequate funding.
"There is a lot of discussion going on whether the country and the poor will benefit from PCFC's privatization," she said.
Cabigas said both the administrative order and the law creating the PCFC provides that the lending institution be "privatized later".
She said the corporation has been getting meager amount from the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (Pagcor). She did not, however, divulge how much they are getting from Pagcor.
"Medyo low priority yata kami ng gobyerno," Cabigasn said, airing her disappointment.
PCFC has a P4 billion principal fund, primarily coming from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It is supported by the government through a P1 billion annual fund culled from the National Livelihood Support Fund (NLSF).
(November 22, 2003 issue)
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