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LANDBANK joins gov’t collab against hunger, poverty


December 16, 2019

(Seated) Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles (5th from left) leads the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the national government’s Expanded Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Program.  Signatories to the MOU include (seated, L-R) LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo, NIA Admin. Ricardo Visaya, TESDA Sec. Isidro Lapeña, DAR Sec. John Castriciones, DSWD Sec. Rolando Bautista, DA Sec. William Dar, POPCOM Deputy Exec. Dir. Lolito Tacardon, (standing, L-R) DTI Sec. Ramon Lopez, NNC Exec. Dir. Azucena Dayanghirang, DOH Sec. Francisco Duque III, DILG Sec. Eduardo Año, DepEd Sec. Leonor Briones, DOST Usec. Brenda Nazareth-Manzano, NAPC Sec. Noel Felongco, WFP Philippines Deputy County Dir. Mats Persson, and UN FAO Asst. Rep.Tamara Palis-Duran.

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has officially joined the Expanded Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Program—a collaborative government initiative designed to mitigate hunger, promote food security, and reduce poverty in the country by year 2030.

Together with Cabinet members and senior government officials, LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize the Bank’s participation last December 9 in Malacañang, Manila.

“We are honored to collaborate and contribute to this concerted endeavor against hunger and poverty. Our participation in the EPAHP Program complements our efforts to find new ways to reach and help underserved and underprivileged areas. This is once again an opportunity for us to support and participate in the National Government’s community-building programs,” President Borromeo said.

Under the MOU, LANDBANK is tasked to provide credit support to community-based organizations (CBOs) for food production, processing, and marketing, which is consistent with its mandate to spur inclusive and sustainable development in rural communities and marginalized areas.

LANDBANK will extend credit assistance to eligible CBOs such as cooperatives, agrarian reform beneficiary organizations, small water impounding systems associations, irrigators associations, day care services parents groups, smallholder farmer associations, fishers organizations, and people’s organizations, among others.

The EPAHP initiative aims to contribute in addressing hunger and poverty in the country by converging relevant programs of participating government agencies to maximize results for the benefit of the poor and marginalized.

Through the MOU signing, LANDBANK officially joins the EPAHP Program team alongside the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM).


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