AROUND 100 registered fisherfolk living in Barangay Sabang, Lapu-Lapu City were able to own motorized pump boats through a “soft loan” initiated by a Japan-based financial company.
Officials of Impact Circle Finance Philippines Inc. (ICFPI) formally turned over the motorized pump boats on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan and City Agriculture and Fishery Office (CAFO) head Alex Baring were present during the turnover.
Satoshi Takahashi, ICFPI president, said they offered soft loans to the fisherfolk that would allow them to be able to buy their own boats for less than P100 a day.
Takahashi said each pumpboat, which measures around 25 feet in length and has a 6.5 horse power engine, reportedly costs P48,000 and is payable by the fisherman within three years.
Based on their agreement with ICFPI, the fishermen would have to pay P95 per day but they will hand it over weekly to the officer-in-charge of the company’s satellite office in Olango Island.
Takahashi said they were offering the pump boats without the need for a down payment.
He said they started offering the services to fisherfolk in Olango Island, particularly in Barangay Tingo, in June last year.
They are expected to expand to Leyte and Surigao in the future.
Aside from pump boats, Takashi said they can extend more loans such as educational loans for the fisherfolk’s children as well as housing loans.
Separately, Chan said the city government will shoulder the payment for insurance for the pump boats worth P40,000 and for the fishermen worth P50,000.
But Baring clarified that the fisherfolk can avail of the insurance only during calamities.
ICFPI, however, said it will still discuss the possibility of providing insurance for the pump boats and their owners.
Chan expressed his gratitude towards the company for its help to the registered fisherfolk in the city, whose pump boats were destroyed during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette (Rai).
The CAFO head said there are about 7,436 registered fisherfolk in the city, whose livelihood was affected after the devastation brought by the typhoon.
Don’t use pump boats for illegal means
Meanwhile, Chan warned the registered fisherfolk that they will be arrested if they are caught practicing compressor and dynamite fishing, which are considered illegal.
The mayor urged the fisherfolk to take care of the trust and confidence that the finance company has shown.
“This is their help to us. Nobody will trust us or lend to us because we don’t have collateral,” he said, stressing that any financing like from banks will require collateral such as a lot or other property.