Finally! DBP ESTABLISHES 3 ATMs IN 2 LANAO DEL SUR TOWNS

Two “unbanked” towns of Lanao del Sur and a pioneering Cassava Processing company will finally be getting the long-awaited banking services with the installation of three Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) on Dec. 3.

I and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) President Emmanuel Herbosa, along with Armed Forces commanders in Western Mindanao, will attend the inauguration of the three ATMs which will be installed in Malabang and Balabagan towns.

Two of the ATMs will be in Malabang, one in the town hall and the other in the compound of the Matling Industrial Commercial Corporation, which buys Cassava from farmers to produce starch.

This comes four months after my visit to the MICC, a pioneering Cassava starch processing facility, where the top officer, Ace Gaccad, shared the problem on the lack of banking facilities in the area.

The town has no bank, not even an ATM machine and the nearest bank for the people is either Pagadian City or Cotabato City.

This had been a major problem for the Matling Industrial Commercial Corporation, a cassava starch manufacturing company which has been operating for the last 90 years in Malabang.

MICC requested MinDA to facilitate the opening of a DBP branch in Malabang town or at least an ATM, preferably within the MICC compound, to serve the needs of the thousands of farmers who had to encash their checks in rediscounting outlets thus reducing their income.

I brought this to the attention of DBP President Herbosa who directed the DBP Cagayan de Oro City branch head to assess and validate the recommendation of the Mindanao Development Authority.

DBP CdO Branch Manager Wilfredo Kaamino, who led the inspection team, approved three sites for the ATMs – one in the compound of the MICC for the use of the company and farmers who deliver cassava for processing, the second in the town hall of Malabang and the third in Balabagan town.

The DBP and MinDA team met with the officers of MICC and the mayors of Malabang and Balabagan during the inspection trip a month ago.

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Malabang Mayor Tomas Macapodi and Balabagan Mayor Edna Benito both thanked DBP and MinDA for working on the establishment of the ATMs in their towns.

The Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, including the Philippine Marines and the Police Provincial Cimma ds of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, were engaged to ensure security.

With the establishment of the ATMs on Dec. 3, residents of the two towns, especially Cassava farmers will be saved from the trouble of travelling about 100 kilometers just to transact with the banks.

This all happened because MinDA’s policy of reaching out to the remotest areas of the island.

Now, people will understand why as part of my governance advocacy, I travel to the farthest areas of the country.

There are simple problems affecting the lives of our people which could easily be solved if only these are brought to the attention of our top decision makers.

#LetsWalkAnExtraKilometer!

#TouchGroundFeelThePulse!

#GovernanceIsCommonSense!

(Photos were downloaded from Malabang Facebook page while the file photos were taken by the MinDA Media team.)