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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider DBP issues statement pertaining to Landbank's press statement released on May 11, 2023.

DBP issues statement pertaining to Landbank's press statement released on May 11, 2023.

Published May 15, 2023 11:46 am
The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has released its official statement pertaining to Landbank's press statement released on May 11, 2023. What follows below is their statement in full.

OFFICIAL

STATEMENT

 Landbank claims in its May 11, 2023 press statement that it had “remained faithful to its social mandate…primarily by being the biggest credit provider to the agricultural sector”. However, as noted by*Rappler* upon examination of Landbank’s 2021 annual report, “loans to the agricultural sector do not make up majority of its loan portfolio, about two-thirds – P587.3 Billion – of the state bank’s loans went to the government’s other priority projects. These include micro, small and medium enterprises, utilities, housing, logistics, education, healthcare, environment and tourism.” These sectors are the traditional preserve of the DBP as the chartered financier of industry. Instead of confining itself to its mandate, Landbank has invaded DBP’s realm. Yet, it did not stop there. It proceeded to assert that there is redundancy in the activities of the two state banks to push its merger agenda, though any such redundancy is due to its own doing. The remaining one-third portion of Landbank’s loan portfolio, roughly P197.76 Billion was extended to the agricultural sector. After deducting the loan extended to the components of the agriculture value chain, only 4% of P197.76 Billion or a measly P7.910 Billion was left for and lent to the farmers. This explains why, as admitted by Landbank in its press statement, the agricultural sector had expanded by only 0.64% over the 2012-2022 period. Landbank claims to be the “most trusted”, or better still based on the dynamic of the claim, “more trusted than DBP”. However, the claim is contextually erroneous, aside from being obviously self-serving. The kind of trust that any public official or government agency should work for and strive to maintain is “public trust” or “trust by the public at large”. Landbank has emerged the main depository of government agencies simply because they are bureaucratically inclined to deposit government money with it, given that its board chairman is by law or always the DOF Secretary. Despite the spate of statistics rolled out by Landbank, at the end of the day the undeniable verdict still is the bank is a failure in relation to its mandate in agriculture. The farmers have not been emancipated; agricultural production is at its lowest; and food security remains a dream with the country constrained to import staples such as rice, sugar and onions. In addition, the country imports agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy and processed foods to supplement domestic production and meet consumer demand.
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