Thursday, November 27, 2008 LBP remains bullish in troubled Mindanao By Bong Garcia
THE Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) remains confident in bringing development in the troubled areas in Western Mindanao.
The LBP believes that pouring in funds for developmental activities could solve the problems of peace and order, particularly in the provinces of Basilan and Sulu.
As of September 30 this year, the Land Bank's outstanding loans to farmers and fisherfolks cooperatives in Basilan and Sulu provinces have reached P185 million and P37 million, respectively.
The peace and order situation of the two provinces remain volatile due to the threat of al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits, who are being pursued by the government troops.
LBP assistant vice president for Western Mindanao Camilo Leyba said that this year's farmers and fisherfolks' loans in Basilan show an increase of one percent and six percent for Sulu compared to that of last year.
Leyba said the loans granted to the local government units (LGU) have been consistently on the up-trend for the last five years, registering a growth of 144 percent.
He said the outstanding loans granted to the LGUs for this year's three quarters alone have already reached P1.2 billion from P51 million in 2004.
Last year's loan of the LGUs have reached P817-million, Leyba said.
Leyba said his office is working closely with the LGU sector in implementing development programs like farm-to-market roads, irrigation systems, public markets and other basic services.
"We believe that the peace and order situation can be solved if we can bring economic opportunities in these (troubled) areas," LBP-Basilan head Michael Aragones said.
Aragones said they have packaged the loans in such a way that LBP loans are protected even if hostilities ensue.
Aragones said that his office is currently in talks with the municipal officials of Sumisip for their P85-million loan application to finance a 41 kilometers road project.
Negotiation is also ongoing with the municipal officials of Tipo-Tipo for a similar project, Aragones said.
Meanwhile, LBP has granted P40 million and P48 million loans to the towns of Lamitan and Maluso, respectively.
