UcPB releases survival, recovery loans to survivors of Marawi war

DAVAO CITY—The United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) said it has distributed “survival and recovery loans” to farmers and fishermen from Marawi City through the bank’s e-money cards after the Department of Agriculture released the loans last month.

The UCPB is the DA’s conduit bank on releasing the loans, and the UCPB said it distributed these through its e-money cards beginning late November initially to 200 farmers and fishermen.

The bank said a total of 1,500 beneficiaries would be given loans by the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, an attached agency of the DA.

The card carried an initial assistance of P5,000 for the basic necessities and livelihood of affected families.

The loan is interest-free and collateral-free and is payable in three years, the projected period when the farmers and fishermen would have fully recovered from the damage caused by the Marawi conflict.

The UCPB e-money card is a reloadable automated teller machine card for different disbursements including loan disbursements, dividend and commission payments, and remittances, the bank said in a statement.

The card is equipped with the EMV chip, the global standard in cardpayment security. It is reloadable up to P100,000 per month over-thecounter at UCPB branches

The financial assistance called Survival and Recovery (Sure) loan is the DA’s program to help rebuild lives after they were displaced in the five-month siege in 2017.

The loans were released to farmers and fishermen who were identified by the DA Regional Office “as those who lost their livelihood due to the damage wrought by the Marawi siege in 2017,” the UCPB said.

UCPB Assistant Vice President for Mindanao Region Joel P. Javier said it was honored to be chosen as the government’s conduit bank “to be part of this momentous project.”

“We are honored to be part of the rebuilding efforts for our fellow Filipinos in Marawi who showed their resilience and determination to get back to their normal lives after the crisis,” Javier said. Manuel T. Cayon