By Lee C. Chipongian
Government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines is financing local government units (LGU) by as much as ₱10 billion in emergency loans to help in the fight against COVID-19.
Called the Landbank HEAL (Help via Emergency Loan Assistance for LGUs), this program is formed as an emergency funding for provincial, city, and municipal governments.
“The HEAL Program is Land¬bank’s way of supporting our LGUs deliver immediate health services, food, and basic commodities to their constituents during this crisis,” said bank president and CEO, Cecilia C. Borromeo.
“Our LGUs are at the forefront of this adversity, and as our partners in development, we will continue to finance their recovery and rehabilitation needs,” Borromeo added.
Both client and non-client LGUs can tap Landbank’s HEAL Program at a fixed interest rate of five percent per annum, payable up to a maximum of five years, with a one-year grace period on principal payment, according to the bank.
Borromeo said the HEAL Program is in support of Republic Act No. 11469, or the “Bayanihan to Heal as One” Act, which granted President Duterte with emergency powers after declaring a state of national health emergency.
The provisions of the law included the “timely and affordable credit to affected sectors, especially in the countryside.”
The HEAL Program is expected to assit LGUs on the purchase of goods and procurement of services to support their constituents during the COVID-19 crisis, said Landbank.