January 16, 2025

Emmanuel "Manny" F. Piñol

Official Website

We’ve been proven right!!

Manny Piñol December 27, 2018 2 min read
‘DA CREDIT PROGRAM
CHANGED OUR LIVES’
By Manny Piñol
Malimono, Surigao del Norte – One year and six months after they were given access by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to a P15′-M credit program, beneficiaries of the loan fund today said their lives improved because of the intervention.
On my third visit to Malimono today to check on the effectiveness of the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) which grants credit to farmers and fishermen of up to P50,000 each at 6% interest per year, the beneficiaries gathered in two venues to share their stories.
At the newly-inaugurated Community Fish Landing Center (CFLC) in Malimono town proper, a farmer who used the P50,000 she borrowed to raise hogs said she was able to buy clothes for her children and send them to school.
A fisherman said he was able to save the life of his son who got seriously ill by using his earnings from the loan program.
In the remote fishing village of Karihatag, poor fishermen said they used their loans in buying new fishing boats which increased their catch and income.
The Malimono Cooperative which handles the lending program said the repayment rate is betwern 95% to 100% on the borrowers’ monthly amortization.
On a good fishing day, fishermen pay their loans in advance especially when they are able to catch Tuna, the loan officer added.
I was emotionally overwhelmed by the testimonies because the success of the program in Malimono would have a great impact on its expansion nationwide.
Launched in Malimono on June 23, 2017, the PLEA program is now being offered in 46 provinces all over the country.
From a loan fund of P1.4-million with a national repayment rate of 97%, the DA loaning program handled by the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has been given a budget of P3.4-billion in 2019.
Before I left Malimono today, I committed to work for the release of an additional P15-m part of which will be used to buy 2 units of ice-making machines, cold storage, 2 fish delivery trucks and working capital.
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