DBP to lend P5 billion for agribusiness
STATE-OWNED Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has launched a
program that seeks to further promote agribusinesses in the countryside
by providing lending assistance to the agriculture, forestry and fishery
sectors.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Francisco del Rosario Jr. said
that the Agribusiness Development Program (ADP) is expected to boost
funding support to agri-agra projects in compliance with the Agri-Agra
Reform Credit Act of 2009.
"We will allocate an initial amount of P5 billion to provide agri-based
entrepreneurs access to loans in the transformation of farmlands and
idle lands including DAR's distributed agri-lands into agribusiness
enterprises," del Rosario said.
DAR is the Department of Agrarian Reform. He added that the program also
seeks to develop high value commercial crops and promote organic
agriculture. The ADP is in support of the National Convergence
Initiative Program of the departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform,
and Environment and Natural Resources.
The ADP has pipeline projects amounting to P2.6 billion. Eligible for
funding are all agribusiness projects including but not limited to
priority crops under the DBP High Value Commercial Crops and Organic
Agriculture Programs, from production, post-harvest, agri-processing to
market or the whole value chain.
Also eligible for financing are poultry and livestock, investments in
bio-fuel feedstock projects, and production of organic products or the
whole value chain.
The facility is available under wholesale lending and retail lending.
Eligible borrowers under wholesale lending are banks, microfinance
institutions, non-government organizations, cooperatives, financing
companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
farmers and fisherfolk associations, and other types of associations
duly registered with corresponding government agencies.
All types of business entities engaged in agribusiness projects and
registered with corresponding agencies are eligible for financing under
retail lending.
--
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CARLOS ANI - Deacon - Los Banos Evangelical Baptist Church
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Office address: 10002 Mt Halcon Street, Los Banos Subdivision, College, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , deaconcarlosani@gmail.com
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639262778044 (TM)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Nueva Ecija farmers get gold daily from carabao dairy
Nueva Ecija farmers get gold daily from carabao dairy
By: Anselmo Roque
Inquirer Central Luzon
11:20 pm | Saturday, August 25th, 2012
ALIAGA, Nueva Ecija—Sylvia Pasaña, 45, a farmer's wife in Barangay
Bibiclat here, was in front of her house one early morning to wait for
the most important person that she was certain to come.
She held a plastic gallon of milk collected earlier by her husband from
their three crossbreed dairy carabaos.
Soon, the milk collector came. He took the milk bottles, poured their
contents in a steel canister and after determining through a lactometer
that it was "Grade A," paid Pasaña P360 for the 10 liters of fresh milk
she turned in.
Pasaña is one of 60 women from eight villages in Aliaga and nearby
Talavera town who sell daily the milk from their families' carabaos to
Florencio Jacinto, an accredited milk collector of the DVF Dairy Farm
Inc. in Talavera.
Elsewhere in the province, members of the 55 dairy cooperatives also
sell the milk harvested from their carabaos to different milk collectors.
Most are taken to the Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao
Cooperatives (Nefedcco), an umbrella organization of local cooperatives
and which serves as their marketing arm.
In other towns and cities in Nueva Ecija, farmers who own about 6,000
female crossbreeds, about a third of them lactating, sell milk to
various outlets.
"Our dairy carabaos have brought a lot of changes in our lives," Pasaña
says. "We don't worry anymore for our daily needs and for our children's
school allowance."
In the past, she says they used to earn only during rice harvest, which
happens three months after planting.
Jacinto, also a rice farmer, says that when he became a milk collector,
life for him and his family changed dramatically.
He earns about P20,000 a month for the P2 mark-up price he turns over to
the DVF Dairy Farm.
The DVF Dairy Farm, a milk processor, sells 90 percent of its products
in Metro Manila, Pampanga and Cebu and the rest in its Nueva Ecija
outlet. It is set to market its product to Hong Kong soon.
Miracle Sibayan, plant manager, says the plant processes from 800 to
1,200 liters of milk a day.
The milk supply is turned into liquid products (pasteurized milk),
flavored milk (chocolate, buko-pandan extract and melon flavored),
cheese line (kesong puti, queso blanco and mozzarella cheese), yogurt
line (creamy, crunchy yogurt with nata de coco, non-fat yogurt and
mango-flavored yogurt) and dry products (pastillas, espasol and milk
candies).
The DVF Dairy Farm is a family-owned company put up by Talavera
businessman Danilo Fausto, president of the Dairy Confederation of the
Philippines.
Fausto used to work in the financial market and served as executive vice
president and general manager of the Preferred Securities Corp.
In the early '90s, he underwent training at the Philippine Carabao
Center (PCC) on carabao raising and dairying. He eventually formed a
cooperative composed of farmers and put up in 2000 his own dairy processing.
He is helping several dairy farmers in his hometown of Talavera and in
other areas put up dairy cooperatives.
PCC officials said at least 55 cooperatives are operating in Nueva
Ecija. In 2008, PCC declared Nueva Ecija as the national impact zone for
carabao-based enterprise development (CBED) under the national
government's carabao development program (CDP).
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Anselmo Roque
Inquirer Central Luzon
11:20 pm | Saturday, August 25th, 2012
ALIAGA, Nueva Ecija—Sylvia Pasaña, 45, a farmer's wife in Barangay
Bibiclat here, was in front of her house one early morning to wait for
the most important person that she was certain to come.
She held a plastic gallon of milk collected earlier by her husband from
their three crossbreed dairy carabaos.
Soon, the milk collector came. He took the milk bottles, poured their
contents in a steel canister and after determining through a lactometer
that it was "Grade A," paid Pasaña P360 for the 10 liters of fresh milk
she turned in.
Pasaña is one of 60 women from eight villages in Aliaga and nearby
Talavera town who sell daily the milk from their families' carabaos to
Florencio Jacinto, an accredited milk collector of the DVF Dairy Farm
Inc. in Talavera.
Elsewhere in the province, members of the 55 dairy cooperatives also
sell the milk harvested from their carabaos to different milk collectors.
Most are taken to the Nueva Ecija Federation of Dairy Carabao
Cooperatives (Nefedcco), an umbrella organization of local cooperatives
and which serves as their marketing arm.
In other towns and cities in Nueva Ecija, farmers who own about 6,000
female crossbreeds, about a third of them lactating, sell milk to
various outlets.
"Our dairy carabaos have brought a lot of changes in our lives," Pasaña
says. "We don't worry anymore for our daily needs and for our children's
school allowance."
In the past, she says they used to earn only during rice harvest, which
happens three months after planting.
Jacinto, also a rice farmer, says that when he became a milk collector,
life for him and his family changed dramatically.
He earns about P20,000 a month for the P2 mark-up price he turns over to
the DVF Dairy Farm.
The DVF Dairy Farm, a milk processor, sells 90 percent of its products
in Metro Manila, Pampanga and Cebu and the rest in its Nueva Ecija
outlet. It is set to market its product to Hong Kong soon.
Miracle Sibayan, plant manager, says the plant processes from 800 to
1,200 liters of milk a day.
The milk supply is turned into liquid products (pasteurized milk),
flavored milk (chocolate, buko-pandan extract and melon flavored),
cheese line (kesong puti, queso blanco and mozzarella cheese), yogurt
line (creamy, crunchy yogurt with nata de coco, non-fat yogurt and
mango-flavored yogurt) and dry products (pastillas, espasol and milk
candies).
The DVF Dairy Farm is a family-owned company put up by Talavera
businessman Danilo Fausto, president of the Dairy Confederation of the
Philippines.
Fausto used to work in the financial market and served as executive vice
president and general manager of the Preferred Securities Corp.
In the early '90s, he underwent training at the Philippine Carabao
Center (PCC) on carabao raising and dairying. He eventually formed a
cooperative composed of farmers and put up in 2000 his own dairy processing.
He is helping several dairy farmers in his hometown of Talavera and in
other areas put up dairy cooperatives.
PCC officials said at least 55 cooperatives are operating in Nueva
Ecija. In 2008, PCC declared Nueva Ecija as the national impact zone for
carabao-based enterprise development (CBED) under the national
government's carabao development program (CDP).
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, August 25, 2012
State program lends P452M to farmers, fisherfolk
State program lends P452M to farmers, fisherfolk
THE AGRICULTURAL Credit Policy Council (ACPC), an agency attached to the
Agriculture department, released over P450 million in loans in the first
semester through its umbrella financing program, it said in a statement
on Tuesday.
Secifically, ACPC said that its Agro-Industry Modernization Credit and
Financing Program (AMCFP) lent a total of P452.4 million to 10,288
agri-fishery stakeholders nationwide in the period.
The amount lent in the same period last year was not readily available
yesterday.
The AMCFP was formed through Republic Act No. 8435 or the Agriculture
and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997.
Implementation of the program, which funds agri-fishery financing
initiatives of various financial institutions, began in 2003.
COMPONENTS
As of this year, ACPC said, programs that have been funded through the
AMCFP are the Cooperative Banks Agri Lending Program (CBAP), the
Agri-Microfinance Program (AMP), the Cooperatives Agri Lending Program
(CALP) and the Sikat Saka Program.
Of the loans generated in the first half, the CBAP released the biggest
amount at P400.9 million, which the ACPC said would finance projects of
6,291 farmers and fisherfolk.
The CBAP provides funding support to eligible cooperative banks for the
expansion of their small farm and fishing loan portfolios through
special time deposits, explained the ACPC.
Loans for agricultural production or microfinance accessed through this
program are subject to interest rates not more than 15% per annum.
A total of P45.6 million, meanwhile, was released through the AMP to
3,808 farmers and fisherfolk in the same period.
ACPC said that the AMP, a joint program of the agency and the People's
Credit and Finance Corp. (PCFC), supports accredited microfinance
institutions to provide agriculture-related micro loans to individual
borrowers coming from small farm or fishing households.
The program also gives priority to areas hit by natural calamities.
The CALP, which is a partnership between the Agriculture department and
the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), lent a total of about
P4.7 million to 159 farmers and fishers in the first semester.
"Launched in June of 2011, the CALP provides a revolving credit line for
cooperatives for the purpose of strengthening their lending services for
their farmer and fisherfolk-members," said ACPC.
Lastly, the Sikat Saka program, which is implemented by the Agriculture
department in partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines
(Landbank), lent P1.25 million to 30 rice farmers over the same six months.
The Sikat Saka program, set up just last January, lends to small palay
farmers in support of the Agriculture department's food staple
sufficiency program.
It is designed to give farmers who are members of irrigator's
associations to borrow from Landbank.
"Under this scheme, farmers will enjoy an interest rate of only 15% per
annum for the first two cycles. For succeeding cycles, the interest may
further go down by 1% per cycle provided the borrower consistently
repays on time," the statement read.
"The priority provinces of the Sikat Saka Program are Isabela, Nueva
Ecija, Iloilo and North Cotabato."
MORE LOANS SEEN THIS SEMESTER
ACPC Executive Director Jovita M. Corpuz said in a telephone interview
yesterday that the AMCFP, since the start of its implementation in 2003,
has already provided some P1.361 billion in loans to 84,164 farmers and
fisherfolk as of June this year.
"We expect the AMCFP's performance to peak in the second semester as we
continue to further adjust our program guidelines with guidance from
our… ACPC Governing Council members from the DA (Department of
Agriculture), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Finance,
National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Budget
and Management," said Ms. Corpuz.
The official also noted that the onset of the wet season in the second
half could likewise raise borrowing in the agri-fishery sector.
"AMCFP loans for 2012 is estimated to reach P1.08 billion," ACPC Deputy
Executive Director Magdalena S. Casuga said in a text message. --
Bettina Faye V. Roc
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE AGRICULTURAL Credit Policy Council (ACPC), an agency attached to the
Agriculture department, released over P450 million in loans in the first
semester through its umbrella financing program, it said in a statement
on Tuesday.
Secifically, ACPC said that its Agro-Industry Modernization Credit and
Financing Program (AMCFP) lent a total of P452.4 million to 10,288
agri-fishery stakeholders nationwide in the period.
The amount lent in the same period last year was not readily available
yesterday.
The AMCFP was formed through Republic Act No. 8435 or the Agriculture
and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997.
Implementation of the program, which funds agri-fishery financing
initiatives of various financial institutions, began in 2003.
COMPONENTS
As of this year, ACPC said, programs that have been funded through the
AMCFP are the Cooperative Banks Agri Lending Program (CBAP), the
Agri-Microfinance Program (AMP), the Cooperatives Agri Lending Program
(CALP) and the Sikat Saka Program.
Of the loans generated in the first half, the CBAP released the biggest
amount at P400.9 million, which the ACPC said would finance projects of
6,291 farmers and fisherfolk.
The CBAP provides funding support to eligible cooperative banks for the
expansion of their small farm and fishing loan portfolios through
special time deposits, explained the ACPC.
Loans for agricultural production or microfinance accessed through this
program are subject to interest rates not more than 15% per annum.
A total of P45.6 million, meanwhile, was released through the AMP to
3,808 farmers and fisherfolk in the same period.
ACPC said that the AMP, a joint program of the agency and the People's
Credit and Finance Corp. (PCFC), supports accredited microfinance
institutions to provide agriculture-related micro loans to individual
borrowers coming from small farm or fishing households.
The program also gives priority to areas hit by natural calamities.
The CALP, which is a partnership between the Agriculture department and
the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), lent a total of about
P4.7 million to 159 farmers and fishers in the first semester.
"Launched in June of 2011, the CALP provides a revolving credit line for
cooperatives for the purpose of strengthening their lending services for
their farmer and fisherfolk-members," said ACPC.
Lastly, the Sikat Saka program, which is implemented by the Agriculture
department in partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines
(Landbank), lent P1.25 million to 30 rice farmers over the same six months.
The Sikat Saka program, set up just last January, lends to small palay
farmers in support of the Agriculture department's food staple
sufficiency program.
It is designed to give farmers who are members of irrigator's
associations to borrow from Landbank.
"Under this scheme, farmers will enjoy an interest rate of only 15% per
annum for the first two cycles. For succeeding cycles, the interest may
further go down by 1% per cycle provided the borrower consistently
repays on time," the statement read.
"The priority provinces of the Sikat Saka Program are Isabela, Nueva
Ecija, Iloilo and North Cotabato."
MORE LOANS SEEN THIS SEMESTER
ACPC Executive Director Jovita M. Corpuz said in a telephone interview
yesterday that the AMCFP, since the start of its implementation in 2003,
has already provided some P1.361 billion in loans to 84,164 farmers and
fisherfolk as of June this year.
"We expect the AMCFP's performance to peak in the second semester as we
continue to further adjust our program guidelines with guidance from
our… ACPC Governing Council members from the DA (Department of
Agriculture), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Finance,
National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Budget
and Management," said Ms. Corpuz.
The official also noted that the onset of the wet season in the second
half could likewise raise borrowing in the agri-fishery sector.
"AMCFP loans for 2012 is estimated to reach P1.08 billion," ACPC Deputy
Executive Director Magdalena S. Casuga said in a text message. --
Bettina Faye V. Roc
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
No rice crisis repeat -- Alcala
No rice crisis repeat -- Alcala
A SEVERE DROUGHT in the United States is unlikely to affect the
Philippines and could even open up export opportunities, a Cabinet
official claimed.
"We don't have a problem in our current supply of rice or corn,"
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said on Friday following renewed
fears of a global food crisis given a grains price surge.
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) earlier this
month warned of a repeat of the 2007-2008 global crisis, noting that the
US drought had pushed corn and soybean prices to record highs. The Group
of 20 leading economies last week said they were prepared to convene an
emergency meeting to address soaring prices, which are also being
pressured by poor Russian output.
Mr. Alcala, however, claimed that the Philippines, including Asia, was
better prepared this time than in 2008, when rising rice prices led to
long queues for state-subsidized supplies. The crisis led to the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes major importer
the Philippines and exporters Thailand and Vietnam, to bolster food
security.
"Asian countries have a large buffer stock of rice. The Philippines also
has enough rice in its current inventory," Mr. Alcala said.
The National Food Authority last week said that as of the first week of
August, the country's rice stock was enough to meet 76-78 days of demand.
Tightening corn supply in the international market, said Mr. Alcala,
could also present opportunities for the Philippines.
"The international market for corn will likely shoot up, which would be
good for our local farmers because this could mean we may be able to
export," he said.
"We hope this could also inspire them (farmers) to plant this coming
crop season so we can increase our stocks."
Higher global wheat prices, Mr. Alcala said, might also benefit Filipino
farmers by prompting millers to buy locally produced corn.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A SEVERE DROUGHT in the United States is unlikely to affect the
Philippines and could even open up export opportunities, a Cabinet
official claimed.
"We don't have a problem in our current supply of rice or corn,"
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said on Friday following renewed
fears of a global food crisis given a grains price surge.
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) earlier this
month warned of a repeat of the 2007-2008 global crisis, noting that the
US drought had pushed corn and soybean prices to record highs. The Group
of 20 leading economies last week said they were prepared to convene an
emergency meeting to address soaring prices, which are also being
pressured by poor Russian output.
Mr. Alcala, however, claimed that the Philippines, including Asia, was
better prepared this time than in 2008, when rising rice prices led to
long queues for state-subsidized supplies. The crisis led to the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes major importer
the Philippines and exporters Thailand and Vietnam, to bolster food
security.
"Asian countries have a large buffer stock of rice. The Philippines also
has enough rice in its current inventory," Mr. Alcala said.
The National Food Authority last week said that as of the first week of
August, the country's rice stock was enough to meet 76-78 days of demand.
Tightening corn supply in the international market, said Mr. Alcala,
could also present opportunities for the Philippines.
"The international market for corn will likely shoot up, which would be
good for our local farmers because this could mean we may be able to
export," he said.
"We hope this could also inspire them (farmers) to plant this coming
crop season so we can increase our stocks."
Higher global wheat prices, Mr. Alcala said, might also benefit Filipino
farmers by prompting millers to buy locally produced corn.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Calamansi juice chosen in community project
Calamansi juice chosen in community project
CALAMBA, MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL -- A women's organization in this town is
promoting ready-to-drink calamansi juice, as part of its initiative to
address poverty in the community through assistance from the regional
office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE-10).
Ezel T. Villanueva, Association of Barangay Council president in this
town, has initiated the project for additional income to her
constituents specifically the women's group Kababayen-an sa Southwestern
Poblacion Nagkahiusa, or Kaspon.
Ms. Villanueva said calamansi juice is saleable because of its health
benefits. Kaspon is also targeting neighboring towns as its initial market.
Johnson G. Canete, DoLE-10 regional director, said the regional office
has released P116,000 to the project proponent. DoLE has a funding
program, he said, that supports women's sector livelihood projects in
Northern Mindanao.
"Using one's resources to good use and increasing it a hundredfold is
[the objective] of DoLE's livelihood grant that contributes to the
government's national agenda of reducing poverty," Mr. Canete said,
adding that this will be DoLE's early Christmas gift to the town
especially the women's sector.
Kaspon has been operating since last year through the help of the
Philippine Australian Livelihood Sustainability Program, which provided
the project's starting capital.
Kaspon President Lilian T. Jumalon said that the additional income,
especially with the help from DoLE, could put food on the members'
tables and send their children to school.
Ms. Jumalon said the project was viable and could be sustained since raw
materials are abundantly produced in the town as well as in nearby
municipalities of Baliangao in Misamis Occidental and Rizal in Lanao del
Norte.
In 2011, the research and social outreach unit of Xavier University's
College of Agriculture drafted a plan to develop a training module
consisting of steps and guidelines in the production of crops that could
withstand climate change. Among these crops are calamansi and other
short-gestation citrus fruits that could address the farmers' needs for
additional income.
This plan was developed when the university hosted the first Calamansi
Forum in Cagayan de Oro City during the same year where various concerns
on the development of the region's calamansi industry surfaced during
discussions with leaders of farmers' groups and representatives of
government line agencies.
The issues raised were dealt mainly with infrastructure support such as
farm-to-market roads, soil analysis and testing, policy and
organizational support, job opportunities for local communities, wastage
reduction from calamansi harvests, and support technologies available.
-- Nef T. Luczon
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CALAMBA, MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL -- A women's organization in this town is
promoting ready-to-drink calamansi juice, as part of its initiative to
address poverty in the community through assistance from the regional
office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE-10).
Ezel T. Villanueva, Association of Barangay Council president in this
town, has initiated the project for additional income to her
constituents specifically the women's group Kababayen-an sa Southwestern
Poblacion Nagkahiusa, or Kaspon.
Ms. Villanueva said calamansi juice is saleable because of its health
benefits. Kaspon is also targeting neighboring towns as its initial market.
Johnson G. Canete, DoLE-10 regional director, said the regional office
has released P116,000 to the project proponent. DoLE has a funding
program, he said, that supports women's sector livelihood projects in
Northern Mindanao.
"Using one's resources to good use and increasing it a hundredfold is
[the objective] of DoLE's livelihood grant that contributes to the
government's national agenda of reducing poverty," Mr. Canete said,
adding that this will be DoLE's early Christmas gift to the town
especially the women's sector.
Kaspon has been operating since last year through the help of the
Philippine Australian Livelihood Sustainability Program, which provided
the project's starting capital.
Kaspon President Lilian T. Jumalon said that the additional income,
especially with the help from DoLE, could put food on the members'
tables and send their children to school.
Ms. Jumalon said the project was viable and could be sustained since raw
materials are abundantly produced in the town as well as in nearby
municipalities of Baliangao in Misamis Occidental and Rizal in Lanao del
Norte.
In 2011, the research and social outreach unit of Xavier University's
College of Agriculture drafted a plan to develop a training module
consisting of steps and guidelines in the production of crops that could
withstand climate change. Among these crops are calamansi and other
short-gestation citrus fruits that could address the farmers' needs for
additional income.
This plan was developed when the university hosted the first Calamansi
Forum in Cagayan de Oro City during the same year where various concerns
on the development of the region's calamansi industry surfaced during
discussions with leaders of farmers' groups and representatives of
government line agencies.
The issues raised were dealt mainly with infrastructure support such as
farm-to-market roads, soil analysis and testing, policy and
organizational support, job opportunities for local communities, wastage
reduction from calamansi harvests, and support technologies available.
-- Nef T. Luczon
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, August 24, 2012
Cash grant to poor reaching target, says WB
Cash grant to poor reaching target, says WB
THE GOVERNMENT'S cash subsidy program for indigent families has been
found successful in achieving targets for improving maternal health care
and child education, according to the World Bank (WB).
In a press conference yesterday in Makati City, the World Bank, citing
results of its Impact Evaluation on the conditional cash transfer, said
the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is on track to achieving
its social objectives.
"The Pantawid Program is really on track to achieve its goals," said
Junko Onishi, monitoring and evaluation specialist of the international
agency.
In a statement, the Washington-based lender also said preliminary
results suggest that the program has impact on the target beneficiaries.
Under the subsidy scheme, each family living below the poverty line is
given up to P1,400 per month or P500 per mother and P300 each for up to
three children, provided that children aged 3-14 years old must attend
at least 85% of classes, avail of regular visits to health centers and
receive vaccines.
Mothers must also undergo pre and postnatal care. The benefits are given
to recipient families for five years.
The beneficiaries are identified under the National Household Targeting
System for Poverty Reduction of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development.
The government allotted P39.445 billion for the program this year to
benefit 3.105 million families, up from 2.32 million beneficiaries last
year. Covered families is expected to rise to 3.8 million in 2013 with a
budget of P44.256 billion.
The World Bank has commissioned the Social Weather Stations to conduct a
three-wave survey for the 4Ps' assessment, the first of which involved
1,418 households last year.
The program has so far covered 704 households for over two years. Areas
covered by the survey are Lanao del Norte, Mountain Province, Negros
Oriental and Occidental Mindoro.
INITIAL RESULTS
Initial results showed that the enrollment rates in preschool and
elementary of recipient households are 76% and 98%, respectively, while
those of non-beneficiaries are 65% and 93%, respectively.
Children from recipient families are also more likely to regularly
attend school with a rate of 98%, five points higher than the rate for
children whose families are not covered by the cash grant.
Children are also more likely to avail of health services such as
de-worming and receive supplements.
It was also found that pregnant women empowered under the program are
more likely to receive prenatal and postnatal services than
non-beneficiaries.
Recipient families also spend 36% more on education and 33% more on
medicine and medical services, according to the survey.
While the preliminary findings show positive results, Ms. Onishi said
that the full extent of the program's effect on the "poorest of the
poor" is yet to be seen when the final results are released in December.
"When the analysis is completed, we will know the full spectrum of the
impacts the program brings as well as the challenges for future
improvement," she said in the press statement.
FARM FROM OVER
Meanwhile, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" J. Soliman welcomed
the results, saying that the fight against poverty is far from over.
"The challenge to the government is to sustain these improvements in the
lives of the families from the program," she said in the same statement,
noting the need to reach the target 4.3 million poor households by 2016
and for recipients to continue complying with the grant conditions.
"Toward this end, a coordinated approach is necessary where national
government agencies involved in poverty reduction coordinate their
activities and interventions to maximize government's investment in
human capital," said the Cabinet official.
Sought for comment on what aspects of the program can still be improved,
Ms. Soliman said during the press conference that the number of public
health care facilities such as maternity clinics should be increased.
"[We] should look at the supply side of health centers to ensure that
mothers and children are getting health services," she said.
The official also said that the department is in talks with
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan on the possibility
of extending the limit of age coverage for child beneficiaries to 18
from 14 years old, considering the two additional years in under the K
to 12 educational program.
"There is a strong clamor for that. It is something we need to look at
in relation to finance. That will need additional budget," she said.
INFORMAL SETTLERS look out from the windows of their homes in Manila.
More than two million people in Metro Manila, or roughly one-fifth of
the sprawling city's population, live in shanty towns. The urban blight
is worsening as the country's population continues to expand at one of
the fastest rates in the world and people from rural areas head to
Manila and other cities in search of work. -- AFP
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
THE GOVERNMENT'S cash subsidy program for indigent families has been
found successful in achieving targets for improving maternal health care
and child education, according to the World Bank (WB).
In a press conference yesterday in Makati City, the World Bank, citing
results of its Impact Evaluation on the conditional cash transfer, said
the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is on track to achieving
its social objectives.
"The Pantawid Program is really on track to achieve its goals," said
Junko Onishi, monitoring and evaluation specialist of the international
agency.
In a statement, the Washington-based lender also said preliminary
results suggest that the program has impact on the target beneficiaries.
Under the subsidy scheme, each family living below the poverty line is
given up to P1,400 per month or P500 per mother and P300 each for up to
three children, provided that children aged 3-14 years old must attend
at least 85% of classes, avail of regular visits to health centers and
receive vaccines.
Mothers must also undergo pre and postnatal care. The benefits are given
to recipient families for five years.
The beneficiaries are identified under the National Household Targeting
System for Poverty Reduction of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development.
The government allotted P39.445 billion for the program this year to
benefit 3.105 million families, up from 2.32 million beneficiaries last
year. Covered families is expected to rise to 3.8 million in 2013 with a
budget of P44.256 billion.
The World Bank has commissioned the Social Weather Stations to conduct a
three-wave survey for the 4Ps' assessment, the first of which involved
1,418 households last year.
The program has so far covered 704 households for over two years. Areas
covered by the survey are Lanao del Norte, Mountain Province, Negros
Oriental and Occidental Mindoro.
INITIAL RESULTS
Initial results showed that the enrollment rates in preschool and
elementary of recipient households are 76% and 98%, respectively, while
those of non-beneficiaries are 65% and 93%, respectively.
Children from recipient families are also more likely to regularly
attend school with a rate of 98%, five points higher than the rate for
children whose families are not covered by the cash grant.
Children are also more likely to avail of health services such as
de-worming and receive supplements.
It was also found that pregnant women empowered under the program are
more likely to receive prenatal and postnatal services than
non-beneficiaries.
Recipient families also spend 36% more on education and 33% more on
medicine and medical services, according to the survey.
While the preliminary findings show positive results, Ms. Onishi said
that the full extent of the program's effect on the "poorest of the
poor" is yet to be seen when the final results are released in December.
"When the analysis is completed, we will know the full spectrum of the
impacts the program brings as well as the challenges for future
improvement," she said in the press statement.
FARM FROM OVER
Meanwhile, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" J. Soliman welcomed
the results, saying that the fight against poverty is far from over.
"The challenge to the government is to sustain these improvements in the
lives of the families from the program," she said in the same statement,
noting the need to reach the target 4.3 million poor households by 2016
and for recipients to continue complying with the grant conditions.
"Toward this end, a coordinated approach is necessary where national
government agencies involved in poverty reduction coordinate their
activities and interventions to maximize government's investment in
human capital," said the Cabinet official.
Sought for comment on what aspects of the program can still be improved,
Ms. Soliman said during the press conference that the number of public
health care facilities such as maternity clinics should be increased.
"[We] should look at the supply side of health centers to ensure that
mothers and children are getting health services," she said.
The official also said that the department is in talks with
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan on the possibility
of extending the limit of age coverage for child beneficiaries to 18
from 14 years old, considering the two additional years in under the K
to 12 educational program.
"There is a strong clamor for that. It is something we need to look at
in relation to finance. That will need additional budget," she said.
INFORMAL SETTLERS look out from the windows of their homes in Manila.
More than two million people in Metro Manila, or roughly one-fifth of
the sprawling city's population, live in shanty towns. The urban blight
is worsening as the country's population continues to expand at one of
the fastest rates in the world and people from rural areas head to
Manila and other cities in search of work. -- AFP
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Dhaka Forecloses the Grameen Brand - - this maybe the beginning of the end of Grameen Bank
Dhaka Forecloses the Grameen Brand - this maybe the beginning of the end
of Grameen Bank
Bangladesh's government is taking over the pioneering microfinance bank,
just as its founder feared.
This article is found in
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444184704577588700270815144.html#articleTabs=article
By WILLIAM B. MILAM
For the past 18 months in Bangladesh, the specter of a government
takeover has haunted Grameen Bank and its founder, Nobel Prize winner
Muhammed Yunus. Many thought Mr. Yunus was imagining the threat, but
this month the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina finally showed
its hand. Her cabinet decided to push the microfinance lender's elected
board of trustees aside and give power to the government-appointed
chairman to name a selection committee that will soon find a new
managing director.
The decision marks a new turn in a campaign to vilify Mr. Yunus, which
began last year when the government removed him from his long-time role
as managing director. Then it ginned up a controversy that micro lenders
were "loan sharks," when the opposite is true: These banks give poor
borrowers an alternative to usurious moneylenders.
This time, the cabinet impugned Mr. Yunus's honesty by asking questions
about whether he followed bank rules on tapping the bank's credit
facilities when he was managing director. It also alleges that he
wrongly received tax exemptions on his foreign earnings. Last week, it
opened a tax investigation.
Grameen Bank is important because it established the microfinance
model--banks that provide unsecured loans for poor women for investing
in income earning projects. It has been copied throughout the world and
inspired the phenomenal growth of micro finance. In 2006, both the Bank
and Yunus were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for, as the Nobel committee
put it, "their efforts to create economic and social development from
below." By giving the poor the ability to help themselves, it undermines
the culture of dependency on the government that ties the poor to
Bangladesh's political parties.
In May 2011, I visited Dhaka and talked at length with Mr. Yunus, whom I
have known since the early 1990s. He had been under attack by the Awami
League government for some time. Even after he was removed from his
position, he sought to ensure that the bank board could still elect his
successor without political interference. It now seems all but certain
that the bank he led to international renown will come under new management.
Enlarge Image
AFP/Getty Images
Muhammed Yunus.
Many Bangladeshis I respect told me then, and still think today, that
the Awami League is out to get Mr. Yunus by any means possible. The
politicians believe, wrongly, that he is a long-term threat to their
interests.
Many suspect that the root of the problem is that, when Bangladesh was
under a military caretaker government in 2007, Mr. Yunus's name was
briefly put forward in 2007 as a possible leader of a "third force" to
replace the two dysfunctional major political parties led by Ms. Hasina
and Khaleda Zia. Their personal animosity has made progress impossible.
He never volunteered this idea, but he didn't reject it at first either.
Nevertheless, this third party never took off.
In addition, most Bangladeshis say that Grameen Bank now provides
low-hanging fruit for what is perceived as a corrupt government.
Officials can loot the bank's substantial assets at will now. They can
also tap its customer base of women borrowers and turn them into a
serious vote bank by promises of loan reductions or write-offs.
World leaders need to take note of these perverse motivations in Dhaka
and condemn them, but they aren't doing so. I came back to Washington
after my 2011 visit feeling great foreboding about Grameen's future. The
South and Central Asian Bureau of the U.S. State Department, however,
did not share my concerns when I met with its officials. Their reaction
was tepid then. Now, more than a year later with news of the cabinet's
decision, I am told they are "working on it."
For all the laurels Mr. Yunus has received from the West, his strategy
to protect the bank he founded didn't work, partly because Western
governments failed him. In the 15 months since the attack on Grameen
began, the U.S. and others have let themselves be distracted by other
business and lulled into complacency by Ms. Hasina's waiting game.
Now it may be too late to save the bank. The U.S. is playing catch-up on
an issue on which it had an early warning. By this time, Prime Minister
Hasina is not inclined to listen to other governments and back off her
determined course. I am sure it will take more than words to deflect it.
The U.S. and European governments will have to threaten to cut off
bilateral assistance programs and other aid through multilateral
institutions like the World Bank.
Getting donors on the same page at such a late date will be a real
uphill battle, and given all the other pressing issues in South Asia is
a long shot. It is thus with a heavy heart that we must prepare for the
disappearance of the pioneer of microfinance and the marginalization of
its visionary founder.
Mr. Milam is a former U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh and a senior scholar
at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
of Grameen Bank
Bangladesh's government is taking over the pioneering microfinance bank,
just as its founder feared.
This article is found in
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444184704577588700270815144.html#articleTabs=article
By WILLIAM B. MILAM
For the past 18 months in Bangladesh, the specter of a government
takeover has haunted Grameen Bank and its founder, Nobel Prize winner
Muhammed Yunus. Many thought Mr. Yunus was imagining the threat, but
this month the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina finally showed
its hand. Her cabinet decided to push the microfinance lender's elected
board of trustees aside and give power to the government-appointed
chairman to name a selection committee that will soon find a new
managing director.
The decision marks a new turn in a campaign to vilify Mr. Yunus, which
began last year when the government removed him from his long-time role
as managing director. Then it ginned up a controversy that micro lenders
were "loan sharks," when the opposite is true: These banks give poor
borrowers an alternative to usurious moneylenders.
This time, the cabinet impugned Mr. Yunus's honesty by asking questions
about whether he followed bank rules on tapping the bank's credit
facilities when he was managing director. It also alleges that he
wrongly received tax exemptions on his foreign earnings. Last week, it
opened a tax investigation.
Grameen Bank is important because it established the microfinance
model--banks that provide unsecured loans for poor women for investing
in income earning projects. It has been copied throughout the world and
inspired the phenomenal growth of micro finance. In 2006, both the Bank
and Yunus were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for, as the Nobel committee
put it, "their efforts to create economic and social development from
below." By giving the poor the ability to help themselves, it undermines
the culture of dependency on the government that ties the poor to
Bangladesh's political parties.
In May 2011, I visited Dhaka and talked at length with Mr. Yunus, whom I
have known since the early 1990s. He had been under attack by the Awami
League government for some time. Even after he was removed from his
position, he sought to ensure that the bank board could still elect his
successor without political interference. It now seems all but certain
that the bank he led to international renown will come under new management.
Enlarge Image
AFP/Getty Images
Muhammed Yunus.
Many Bangladeshis I respect told me then, and still think today, that
the Awami League is out to get Mr. Yunus by any means possible. The
politicians believe, wrongly, that he is a long-term threat to their
interests.
Many suspect that the root of the problem is that, when Bangladesh was
under a military caretaker government in 2007, Mr. Yunus's name was
briefly put forward in 2007 as a possible leader of a "third force" to
replace the two dysfunctional major political parties led by Ms. Hasina
and Khaleda Zia. Their personal animosity has made progress impossible.
He never volunteered this idea, but he didn't reject it at first either.
Nevertheless, this third party never took off.
In addition, most Bangladeshis say that Grameen Bank now provides
low-hanging fruit for what is perceived as a corrupt government.
Officials can loot the bank's substantial assets at will now. They can
also tap its customer base of women borrowers and turn them into a
serious vote bank by promises of loan reductions or write-offs.
World leaders need to take note of these perverse motivations in Dhaka
and condemn them, but they aren't doing so. I came back to Washington
after my 2011 visit feeling great foreboding about Grameen's future. The
South and Central Asian Bureau of the U.S. State Department, however,
did not share my concerns when I met with its officials. Their reaction
was tepid then. Now, more than a year later with news of the cabinet's
decision, I am told they are "working on it."
For all the laurels Mr. Yunus has received from the West, his strategy
to protect the bank he founded didn't work, partly because Western
governments failed him. In the 15 months since the attack on Grameen
began, the U.S. and others have let themselves be distracted by other
business and lulled into complacency by Ms. Hasina's waiting game.
Now it may be too late to save the bank. The U.S. is playing catch-up on
an issue on which it had an early warning. By this time, Prime Minister
Hasina is not inclined to listen to other governments and back off her
determined course. I am sure it will take more than words to deflect it.
The U.S. and European governments will have to threaten to cut off
bilateral assistance programs and other aid through multilateral
institutions like the World Bank.
Getting donors on the same page at such a late date will be a real
uphill battle, and given all the other pressing issues in South Asia is
a long shot. It is thus with a heavy heart that we must prepare for the
disappearance of the pioneer of microfinance and the marginalization of
its visionary founder.
Mr. Milam is a former U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh and a senior scholar
at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Palawan SMEs get funding
Palawan SMEs get funding
Details Published on Thursday, 23 August 2012 00:00
Focused on giving micro, small and medium enterprises equal chances at
funding sources, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas yesterday launched its
credit enhancement scheme for MSMEs to Palawan.
The Palawan Credit Surety Fund (CSF), 24th in the country, provides
access to no-collateral funding for the province's small enterprises. coll
The CSF is a credit enhancement scheme for micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) which are experiencing difficulty in obtaining loans
from the banks due to lack of acceptable collaterals, lack of credit
know-how and lack of credit track records.
The surety fund comes from the pooled cash contributions of
participating cooperatives, local government units and other partner
institutions.
Ten cooperatives in the province have joined the Palawan CSF with an
aggregate contribution of P2 million while the provincial government
pledged P2 million.
BSP said the Industrial Guarantee and Loan Fund, Development Bank of the
Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines have also expressed strong
support to the CSF Program with their contribution pledges.
Various sectors are expected to benefit from this credit enhancement
scheme which also serves as an alternative lending window for MSMEs.
The program also integrates a training component to enhance the skills
of participating cooperatives in the areas of business plan preparation,
loan evaluation, risk management and accounting system.
Initiated in August 2008, the CSF is a fund created through the pooling
of cash contributions from participating cooperatives with an equivalent
counterpart contribution from the local government and donations from
partner institutions.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Details Published on Thursday, 23 August 2012 00:00
Focused on giving micro, small and medium enterprises equal chances at
funding sources, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas yesterday launched its
credit enhancement scheme for MSMEs to Palawan.
The Palawan Credit Surety Fund (CSF), 24th in the country, provides
access to no-collateral funding for the province's small enterprises. coll
The CSF is a credit enhancement scheme for micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs) which are experiencing difficulty in obtaining loans
from the banks due to lack of acceptable collaterals, lack of credit
know-how and lack of credit track records.
The surety fund comes from the pooled cash contributions of
participating cooperatives, local government units and other partner
institutions.
Ten cooperatives in the province have joined the Palawan CSF with an
aggregate contribution of P2 million while the provincial government
pledged P2 million.
BSP said the Industrial Guarantee and Loan Fund, Development Bank of the
Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines have also expressed strong
support to the CSF Program with their contribution pledges.
Various sectors are expected to benefit from this credit enhancement
scheme which also serves as an alternative lending window for MSMEs.
The program also integrates a training component to enhance the skills
of participating cooperatives in the areas of business plan preparation,
loan evaluation, risk management and accounting system.
Initiated in August 2008, the CSF is a fund created through the pooling
of cash contributions from participating cooperatives with an equivalent
counterpart contribution from the local government and donations from
partner institutions.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
BSP eyes lending-rules change
BSP eyes lending-rules change
TUESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2012 20:16 JUN VALLECERA / REPORTER
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would rather that some of the
mandatory sectoral loan allocations be stricken off the books to allow
for more efficient lending than is possible at present.
Such mandates as the so-called agri-agra lending law, the gross receipts
tax (GRT) or even the BSP's reserve requirement may be repealed or
recalibrated to allow the banks to lend to sectors where the economic
payback is greatest.
By dictating where bank funds are applied, the government goes against
the grain of effective financial intermediation where lending practices
and attendant costs or availability are best determined by market forces.
"Bank lending could increase if the mandatory lending allocations are
removed," said Deputy BSP Gov. Diwa C. Guinigundo on Tuesday.
He said loan demand, no matter the 12.2-percent loan growth posted at
end-June this year, was considered less than optimal by the regulators.
"Loan demand is still too low despite the launching of the
Public-Private Partnership program," Guinigundo said in viewing actual
loan activities after the government launched a massive infrastructure
build up program costing tens of billions of pesos when pursued in earnest.
Under the law, the banks are told to set aside 15 percent of total loan
portfolio as lending to agricultural borrowers and another 10 percent to
agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Because borrowers often do not meet the strict requirements imposed by
banks, so-called alternate compliance later revoked were allowed.
Private bank executives have since complained the agri-agra lending rule
has made for more complicated lending in that regulatory penalties were
often weighed against the likelihood of losing good money on a bad
project whose proponents do not even bother to present feasibility
studies to support their loan applications.
Bank executives have to account for their performance every year before
shareholders who do not relish receiving diminished dividends on account
of a mandate most banks view as an unreasonable tax.
The mandatory allocations are on top of the GRT imposed on the interest
income on loans generated by lending to the micro and small and medium
scale entrepreneurs or MSMEs, itself also a mandated lending sector.
Even the deposit reserve requirement the BSP tells the banks to observe
is a form of tax that goes against the grain of allowing the banks to
determine where their funds may be spent.
The mandatory reserve requirement is made worse by the recent monetary
board decision discontinuing the practice of paying the banks a certain
fee in exchange for keeping their money in the vaults of the BSP.
This means that on top of forcibly agreeing to keep the funds in reserve
at the BSP, the banks also lost what little reward they used to get when
the BSP initially agreed to remunerate them for observing the deposit
reserve rule.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TUESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2012 20:16 JUN VALLECERA / REPORTER
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would rather that some of the
mandatory sectoral loan allocations be stricken off the books to allow
for more efficient lending than is possible at present.
Such mandates as the so-called agri-agra lending law, the gross receipts
tax (GRT) or even the BSP's reserve requirement may be repealed or
recalibrated to allow the banks to lend to sectors where the economic
payback is greatest.
By dictating where bank funds are applied, the government goes against
the grain of effective financial intermediation where lending practices
and attendant costs or availability are best determined by market forces.
"Bank lending could increase if the mandatory lending allocations are
removed," said Deputy BSP Gov. Diwa C. Guinigundo on Tuesday.
He said loan demand, no matter the 12.2-percent loan growth posted at
end-June this year, was considered less than optimal by the regulators.
"Loan demand is still too low despite the launching of the
Public-Private Partnership program," Guinigundo said in viewing actual
loan activities after the government launched a massive infrastructure
build up program costing tens of billions of pesos when pursued in earnest.
Under the law, the banks are told to set aside 15 percent of total loan
portfolio as lending to agricultural borrowers and another 10 percent to
agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Because borrowers often do not meet the strict requirements imposed by
banks, so-called alternate compliance later revoked were allowed.
Private bank executives have since complained the agri-agra lending rule
has made for more complicated lending in that regulatory penalties were
often weighed against the likelihood of losing good money on a bad
project whose proponents do not even bother to present feasibility
studies to support their loan applications.
Bank executives have to account for their performance every year before
shareholders who do not relish receiving diminished dividends on account
of a mandate most banks view as an unreasonable tax.
The mandatory allocations are on top of the GRT imposed on the interest
income on loans generated by lending to the micro and small and medium
scale entrepreneurs or MSMEs, itself also a mandated lending sector.
Even the deposit reserve requirement the BSP tells the banks to observe
is a form of tax that goes against the grain of allowing the banks to
determine where their funds may be spent.
The mandatory reserve requirement is made worse by the recent monetary
board decision discontinuing the practice of paying the banks a certain
fee in exchange for keeping their money in the vaults of the BSP.
This means that on top of forcibly agreeing to keep the funds in reserve
at the BSP, the banks also lost what little reward they used to get when
the BSP initially agreed to remunerate them for observing the deposit
reserve rule.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, August 20, 2012
BDO imposes P2 fee on cash card withdrawals
BDO imposes P2 fee on cash card withdrawals
By: Victor C. Agustin
August 20, 2012 2:55 PM
Starting September 1, it will cost a BDO cash card holder P2 every time
he/she withdraws his/her own money from any BDO terminal.
The fee does NOT apply to every BDO depositor's ATM transaction, as
Cocktales had mistakenly reported earlier. Cocktales regrets the error,
and apologizes to BDO and its depositors for the confusion.
The new fee advisory was being flashed on the bank's 1,596 ATM-network
as each terminal dispensed wads of cash for the duration of the four-day
weekend.
BDO issued a quick clarification after Cocktales posted earlier that the
P2-fee also covered ATM withdrawals by regular BDO account holders.
"The P2-fee will only be effective on withdrawals of clients using Cash
Cards (or BDO pre-paid electronic debit cards), similar to what other
industry players are implementing," said Jaime Nasol, head of BDO's cash
management services.
"This is to partially recover our cost on cash handling," Nasol added.
Nasol said BDO, like any other local bank, still exempts its own account
holders from any ATM fee so long as the withdrawal is made from the
depositor's own bank ATM network.
But withdrawals made on other bank's ATMs are hit with P10-11 fee for
every transaction.
Individual banks do not normally publish their depositor base or the
number of transactions that their own home networks process each day.
But a rare glimpse of the magnitude of the potential windfall from such
automated transactions may be gleaned from a year-end account by
BancNet, the largest of the three ATM consortiums in the country. (BDO
happens to be a Megalink member.)
BancNet chief operating officer Aristeo Zafra Jr. said a record 2.282
million "switched" transactions was recorded on the BancNet network last
December 15.
Switched transactions, as defined by BancNet, are mostly withdrawals and
balance inquiries done on ATMs other than the ATMs of the cardholder's
bank. These are done not only by the consortium's own cardholders but
also by cardholders of other networks such as Megalink and BPI-dominated
ExpressNet.
December 15 happened to be payday for government offices and most
private companies. It was also the same day, BancNet said, when most
Christmas bonuses were distributed and credited into employee bank accounts.
"Withdrawals usually peak on the payday before Christmas on account of
the fact that majority of ATM accounts are payroll accounts," Zafra said.
The volume on the Friday before Christmas, December 23 came very close
to December 15, with 2.278 million switched transactions, followed by
December 29, the payday before the New Year weekend which posted 2.083
million switched transactions.
BancNet said it had over 12 million ATM cardholders and 5,700 ATMs at
end-2011, comprising 37.4 percent and 50 percent, respectively, of all
cardholders and ATMs in the country.
BDO so far has the most generous ceiling for ATM withdrawals for its own
depositors, allowing up to P50,000 cash withdrawal a day at a maximum
P25,000 for every ATM transaction.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
By: Victor C. Agustin
August 20, 2012 2:55 PM
Starting September 1, it will cost a BDO cash card holder P2 every time
he/she withdraws his/her own money from any BDO terminal.
The fee does NOT apply to every BDO depositor's ATM transaction, as
Cocktales had mistakenly reported earlier. Cocktales regrets the error,
and apologizes to BDO and its depositors for the confusion.
The new fee advisory was being flashed on the bank's 1,596 ATM-network
as each terminal dispensed wads of cash for the duration of the four-day
weekend.
BDO issued a quick clarification after Cocktales posted earlier that the
P2-fee also covered ATM withdrawals by regular BDO account holders.
"The P2-fee will only be effective on withdrawals of clients using Cash
Cards (or BDO pre-paid electronic debit cards), similar to what other
industry players are implementing," said Jaime Nasol, head of BDO's cash
management services.
"This is to partially recover our cost on cash handling," Nasol added.
Nasol said BDO, like any other local bank, still exempts its own account
holders from any ATM fee so long as the withdrawal is made from the
depositor's own bank ATM network.
But withdrawals made on other bank's ATMs are hit with P10-11 fee for
every transaction.
Individual banks do not normally publish their depositor base or the
number of transactions that their own home networks process each day.
But a rare glimpse of the magnitude of the potential windfall from such
automated transactions may be gleaned from a year-end account by
BancNet, the largest of the three ATM consortiums in the country. (BDO
happens to be a Megalink member.)
BancNet chief operating officer Aristeo Zafra Jr. said a record 2.282
million "switched" transactions was recorded on the BancNet network last
December 15.
Switched transactions, as defined by BancNet, are mostly withdrawals and
balance inquiries done on ATMs other than the ATMs of the cardholder's
bank. These are done not only by the consortium's own cardholders but
also by cardholders of other networks such as Megalink and BPI-dominated
ExpressNet.
December 15 happened to be payday for government offices and most
private companies. It was also the same day, BancNet said, when most
Christmas bonuses were distributed and credited into employee bank accounts.
"Withdrawals usually peak on the payday before Christmas on account of
the fact that majority of ATM accounts are payroll accounts," Zafra said.
The volume on the Friday before Christmas, December 23 came very close
to December 15, with 2.278 million switched transactions, followed by
December 29, the payday before the New Year weekend which posted 2.083
million switched transactions.
BancNet said it had over 12 million ATM cardholders and 5,700 ATMs at
end-2011, comprising 37.4 percent and 50 percent, respectively, of all
cardholders and ATMs in the country.
BDO so far has the most generous ceiling for ATM withdrawals for its own
depositors, allowing up to P50,000 cash withdrawal a day at a maximum
P25,000 for every ATM transaction.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tillers, fishers can avail of P2.7-B fund again
Tillers, fishers can avail of P2.7-B fund again
By Gil C. Cabacungan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:57 am | Monday, August 20th, 2012
The Aquino administration will make available close to P2.7 billion in
fresh funds for farmers and fishermen with the lifting of the moratorium
on the corruption-tainted Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
(ACEF) which was allegedly used as a slush fund for the 2010 campaign by
former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr. had
agreed to release P1.95 billion from the ACEF fund and another P700
million in fresh infusions beginning in September this year after the
Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries
Modernization agreed on Friday to institute measures to prevent the
misuse of the fund.
"There is a clamor for more funds for the agriculture sector, especially
with the calamities that have struck our farmers and fisherfolk in the
last two years while the ACEF has been suspended. We agreed to reduce
the loan component in the ACEF, which had been the biggest source of
abuse," Pangilinan said. It was learned that in the last administration,
favored companies and individuals were getting loans without any
collateral and without having to pay any interest, Pangilinan said in an
interview.
Under the new guidelines, Pangilinan said 60 percent of the ACEF would
be given as grants to deserving farmers and fishermen while another 10
percent would be given in scholarship funds to their relatives. "The
government is not in the business of giving loans but giving grants,"
said Pangilinan.
Stringent requirements
Only 30 percent would be earmarked for loans (down from 70 percent
during the Arroyo administration) and Pangilinan said that this would be
coursed through government financial institutions (GFIs) rather than
state agencies. Pangilinan said the GFIs would implement more stringent
lending requirements, including appropriate interest rates and minimum
collateral requirements.
Fund releases from the ACEF were halted two years ago after the new
administration questioned the unusually large amount of bad loans
amassed under the P10-billion facility, which was created in 1996 as a
safety net for farmers and fishermen affected by the trade
liberalization policies of the government. When it was suspended in
January 2011, the ACEF had P8.7 billion in unpaid loans accumulated
during the nine-year term of the Arroyo administration.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
By Gil C. Cabacungan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:57 am | Monday, August 20th, 2012
The Aquino administration will make available close to P2.7 billion in
fresh funds for farmers and fishermen with the lifting of the moratorium
on the corruption-tainted Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
(ACEF) which was allegedly used as a slush fund for the 2010 campaign by
former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr. had
agreed to release P1.95 billion from the ACEF fund and another P700
million in fresh infusions beginning in September this year after the
Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries
Modernization agreed on Friday to institute measures to prevent the
misuse of the fund.
"There is a clamor for more funds for the agriculture sector, especially
with the calamities that have struck our farmers and fisherfolk in the
last two years while the ACEF has been suspended. We agreed to reduce
the loan component in the ACEF, which had been the biggest source of
abuse," Pangilinan said. It was learned that in the last administration,
favored companies and individuals were getting loans without any
collateral and without having to pay any interest, Pangilinan said in an
interview.
Under the new guidelines, Pangilinan said 60 percent of the ACEF would
be given as grants to deserving farmers and fishermen while another 10
percent would be given in scholarship funds to their relatives. "The
government is not in the business of giving loans but giving grants,"
said Pangilinan.
Stringent requirements
Only 30 percent would be earmarked for loans (down from 70 percent
during the Arroyo administration) and Pangilinan said that this would be
coursed through government financial institutions (GFIs) rather than
state agencies. Pangilinan said the GFIs would implement more stringent
lending requirements, including appropriate interest rates and minimum
collateral requirements.
Fund releases from the ACEF were halted two years ago after the new
administration questioned the unusually large amount of bad loans
amassed under the P10-billion facility, which was created in 1996 as a
safety net for farmers and fishermen affected by the trade
liberalization policies of the government. When it was suspended in
January 2011, the ACEF had P8.7 billion in unpaid loans accumulated
during the nine-year term of the Arroyo administration.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, August 19, 2012
DBP promotes growth thru microfinance
DBP promotes growth thru microfinance
By Manila Standard Today | Posted on August 19, 2012
The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has stepped up its efforts
to promote the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises through its
participation to the Credit Surety Fund (CSF) program of the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas. DBP was the first financial institution to support
the CSF program as a contributor to the fund, trustee bank, and lender
to the participating cooperatives and its qualified MSME members.
Launched in 2008, the CSF is a credit enhancement scheme that
allows-member cooperatives and its member-MSMEs to borrow from banks
through a joint letter of surety coverage issued by the CSF oversight
committee in lieu of hard collateral. In December 2009, DBP
institutionalized its CSF Credit Facility to give credit assistance to
CSF member-cooperatives and individual MSMEs who belong to members of
CSF member-cooperatives.
DBP president and chief executive Francisco Del Rosario Jr. said that as
of June 2012, the bank has approved contributions to 29 credit surety
funds established in various parts of the country. DBP is supporting 344
cooperatives and non-government organizations through its contributions
to the 25 credit surety funds. He added that DBP has approved
P42.05-million in contributions to the credit surety funds, and has
released P24.7-million to date.
"DBP has released P93.18-million in loans to MSMEs under the CSF Credit
Facility, with loan approvals amounting to P152.48-million," Del Rosario
added. The bank also has P61.756-million in loans in the pipeline for 13
borrowers under the said facility.
SEED Program
The CSF Credit Facility is one of the numerous initiatives integrated
under DBP's umbrella program for MSMES — the Sustainable
Entrepreneurship and Enhancement Development (SEED) program. This
program aims to improve the access of MSMEs to DBP's credit facilities
and fast-track the credit application process. Through the program, DBP
brings SMEs to the mainstream of banking by implementing alternative
ways for securing MSME loans and maximizing its lending reach.
Credit programs under the SEED include the Organic Agriculture program,
High Value Crops Financing program, Cleaner Public Transportation
program, Venture Capital program and the One Town, One Product credit
program.
Agricultural Microfinance
DBP has also opened its Agricultural Credit Policy Council-DBP
Cooperative Agricultural Lending Program Facility (CALP) that funds
stable cooperative banks and cooperatives extending agricultural
microfinance loans to small farmers and fisherfolk.
With an initial funding allocation of P200-million, the CALP will
support the production of crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries. It
will also fund on-farm or off-farm activities of agricultural households
using the household cash flow lending approach.
On its 65th year, DBP commits itself to continue promoting the growth of
micro, small and medium enterprises through sustainable and high-impact
programs that will help create employment and income opportunities for
the enterprising Filipino.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
By Manila Standard Today | Posted on August 19, 2012
The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has stepped up its efforts
to promote the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises through its
participation to the Credit Surety Fund (CSF) program of the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas. DBP was the first financial institution to support
the CSF program as a contributor to the fund, trustee bank, and lender
to the participating cooperatives and its qualified MSME members.
Launched in 2008, the CSF is a credit enhancement scheme that
allows-member cooperatives and its member-MSMEs to borrow from banks
through a joint letter of surety coverage issued by the CSF oversight
committee in lieu of hard collateral. In December 2009, DBP
institutionalized its CSF Credit Facility to give credit assistance to
CSF member-cooperatives and individual MSMEs who belong to members of
CSF member-cooperatives.
DBP president and chief executive Francisco Del Rosario Jr. said that as
of June 2012, the bank has approved contributions to 29 credit surety
funds established in various parts of the country. DBP is supporting 344
cooperatives and non-government organizations through its contributions
to the 25 credit surety funds. He added that DBP has approved
P42.05-million in contributions to the credit surety funds, and has
released P24.7-million to date.
"DBP has released P93.18-million in loans to MSMEs under the CSF Credit
Facility, with loan approvals amounting to P152.48-million," Del Rosario
added. The bank also has P61.756-million in loans in the pipeline for 13
borrowers under the said facility.
SEED Program
The CSF Credit Facility is one of the numerous initiatives integrated
under DBP's umbrella program for MSMES — the Sustainable
Entrepreneurship and Enhancement Development (SEED) program. This
program aims to improve the access of MSMEs to DBP's credit facilities
and fast-track the credit application process. Through the program, DBP
brings SMEs to the mainstream of banking by implementing alternative
ways for securing MSME loans and maximizing its lending reach.
Credit programs under the SEED include the Organic Agriculture program,
High Value Crops Financing program, Cleaner Public Transportation
program, Venture Capital program and the One Town, One Product credit
program.
Agricultural Microfinance
DBP has also opened its Agricultural Credit Policy Council-DBP
Cooperative Agricultural Lending Program Facility (CALP) that funds
stable cooperative banks and cooperatives extending agricultural
microfinance loans to small farmers and fisherfolk.
With an initial funding allocation of P200-million, the CALP will
support the production of crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries. It
will also fund on-farm or off-farm activities of agricultural households
using the household cash flow lending approach.
On its 65th year, DBP commits itself to continue promoting the growth of
micro, small and medium enterprises through sustainable and high-impact
programs that will help create employment and income opportunities for
the enterprising Filipino.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, August 6, 2012
BPO industry expects more dramatic growth ahead
BPO industry expects more dramatic growth ahead
Written by MADELAINE MIRAFLOR REPORTER AND SHEILA MAÑALAC CORRESPONDENT
In grabbing control of the global business process outsourcing (BPO)
industry from India, the Philippines may have finally found the key to
long-term, sustainable economic growth that will lift the country out of
Third World status.
Up until two years ago, India had been the world's biggest BPO provider.
While BPO includes service support, sales and marketing, technical
support and front and back office operations, the biggest money earner
remain the inbound and outbound calls, which is why most Filipinos still
think of the BPO industry in call center terms.
Calls to and from customers are the bread and butter accounts of BPO
companies, and it is the primary reason the Philippines was able to
become the world's dominant player. In general, Filipinos speak English
better than their Indian counterparts, and since the US is the biggest
call center market in the world, it was inevitable that American
companies would transfer their business to the country which was once
their colony.
According to Martin Conboy, president of the Australian BPO Association,
the BPO industry in the Philippines will soon be the powerhouse of the
economy since it continues to remit millions of dollars to the country
without having to send workers abroad. And those remittances are
expected to continue to grow in the near to mid-term.
"Through BPO, Philippines will be the powerhouse of the global economy
in few years because it is a magnificent place to supply people who are
great workers when it comes to software," said Conboy.
Conboy also added that the Philippines produces a large number of
skilled and talented workers that unfortunately, are not being utilized
to the max. Not so with BPO companies. In this industry, a person's
skills determine how far up the totem pole the employee goes.
Already transitioning to developed status
Because of the BPO industry, the Philippines is already transitioning to
a developed country, Conboy added.
"In 12 years, the economy in the Philippines will double and the BPO
industry is about to be the biggest contributor to the GDP, which
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) contribute the most through their
remittances," said Conboy.
GDP or Gross Domestic Product is the sum total of all goods and services
produced by a country in a given year, excluding earnings from its
expatriate workers. If the past record of the industry is used as the
basis, then the industry's future — and that of the country — can only
be considered as bright.
Nora Terrado, president of the Software Industry Association of the
Philippines, said that this year the BPO-software industry in the
Philippines has so far posted 20 percent growth compared to the same
period last year, driven by increased demand from the US and Australia.
According to a report from the Business Processing Association
Philippines (BPAP), the IT-BPO and global in-house center industry in
the Philippines has grown at an annual rate of 30 percent over the last
decade, faster than the growth of the global offshore services market.
As it has grown, the industry has also diversified significantly in
breadth, scale, and maturity of services.
Said the BPAP: "IT-BPO industry is the Philippines' most important
generator of jobs. Its contribution to GDP was approximately five
percent in 2011, and it is the Philippines' third-largest net foreign
exchange earner after tourism and remittances from an estimated 10
million overseas workers.
"Its contribution to economic development is centered not only in the
nation's National Capital Region, but also in other highly urbanized
areas throughout the country, or Next Wave Cities. Employment in these
cities was estimated at 150,000 at the end of 2011."
End nowhere in sight
Despite its impressive growth in the past decade, the BPO industry in
the Philippines is still on the rise. Industry leaders maintain a
positive outlook that the end of this growth is still nowhere in sight.
From its beginning in 1999, when Cyber City set up an outsourcing
facility at the former United States Air Force base in Clark, Pampanga,
the growth of the industry has been steady. Not only has this helped the
economy, but it has also created jobs for Filipinos nationwide, since
roughly one out of five BPO jobs are now located outside Metro Manila.
Indeed, the industry has made the lives of Filipino workers easier
because the starting pay is close to double the minimum wage. Also, the
industry offers quality jobs for the country's large labor pool.
But now, there's a problem: filling the demand for qualified workers for
this fast-growing industry.
Although Filipinos are known to be good in English, a huge number of the
population is not really used to using this language in daily
conversation. The largest number of English-speaking Filipinos remains
concentrated in the Metro Manila area and the key cities. The supply may
seem to be running short.
But according to Rainerio "Bong" Borja, president and country manager of
NCO and APAC, and founder of the BPAP, the lack of quality manpower is
not an issue but only a challenge.
"I'm not convinced it's a problem because if you look at our raw
ingredient, we have 400,000 college graduates, and all of those
graduates are looking to be employed and take on white-collar work. Very
few of those 400,000 took up college to end up as farmers or factory
workers or other kinds of jobs. All of them, or most of them would
rather end up working a white collar job. And there is no other industry
that's actually employing in the same massive numbers as we are. So
basically, if you talk about availability of white-collar work we have a
monopoly of that," he told The Manila Times.
Proactively addressing the issue
The BPO industry has become such a key cog of the economy that it was
even mentioned in President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino's recent SONA.
The government is not blind to the potential manpower shortage that can
mar the growth of the industry. What better way to address the issue of
manpower than to partner with government institutions and universities,
where the "raw ingredient" comes from.
"We have different partnerships with government agencies. TESDA has P400
million in funds put in the industry, so we are training 65,000 scholars
who are almost employable and near hires. We are training them on
industry specific training and 70 percent are converted into hires. If
you do the math, that's 47,000 out of 65,000 trainees who are hires,"
Benedict Hernandez told The Manikla Times. He is the president and CEO
of BPAP and the Operations Lead for Accenture BPO Services Delivery in
the Philippines.
Hernandez said that everyone in the industry is being proactive in
supplying the manpower that they need to meet the demand. He said there
is actually no problem; it is only that the tremendous growth in the
industry has led to a rapid surge in the demand for quality manpower.
"The demand is huge, and the need to add supply of manpower is essential
for the growing industry," he said.
Aside from TESDA, the industry is also working with the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED). There is already a pilot deployment of the
Service Management Program, where college students can enroll while in
school and learn IT-BPO skills they need. "This program is ideal for any
service industry as we teach them universal skills such as service
orientation, business communication, and also fundamentals of IT-BPO,
among many more," said Hernandez. This is already being done in four
universities, and they expect to throw a wider net in the near future.
US anti-outsourcing bill
Industry leaders have been paying close attention to the upcoming US
presidential elections because incumbent President Barack Obama has made
an issue of challenger Mitt Romney's outsourcing of jobs that are
desperately needed by the stagnant US economy.
With the US economy in such a weak state – unemployment is slightly
below 8.3 percent as of this month — the "Bring Home Jobs Act" pushed by
Obama could be a threat to the growing BPO industry in the Philippines.
Should Obama win another four year term this November – most surveys
indicate that he has a good chance of defeating the gaffe-prone Mitt
Romney – then there could be a stumbling block to the continued growth
of the industry.
But people in the industry seem to think otherwise. "The US Senate
rejected the bill already. There is a similar bill that comes up every
now and then, although personally, I think this type of bill is
perfectionist in nature. We support the rationale of the rejection of
this bill, because outsourcing makes American companies more
competitive. It is said that the 2,500 multinational companies create
more jobs in the US domestically and therefore outsourcing actually
supports the American demand for employment," said Hernandez.
Also acting in the Philippines' favor is continued globalization, which
makes controlling private companies next to impossible. "It is very
difficult to actually restrict the US private companies to determine
where they will have their products manufactured or where they have
their products serviced anywhere in the globe, that is part of
globalization. Just like an HP computer which I have is actually made in
Taiwan, it is not made by HP in the US. It's coming from places where
the service can be done at lower cost without sacrificing quality, or
better service at lower cost. So they can't say they have to move it
back to the US and sell these computers at higher cost and make the
consumer pay more for every call they make. So it's going to be
difficult to reverse that trend I think," according to Borja.
Health issues
There are other issues.
Although the risks are high, the industry still employs over half a
million workers to date. Since the BPO industry is known to service
consumers outside the country, particularly in the US, workers have to
adapt to the time difference, and that means working at night.
The British Medical Journal came out with an analysis of studies that
involved more than two million night shift workers, stating that shift
work disrupt the body clock and have an adverse effects on lifestyle.
This has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure,
diabetes, heart attack and stroke caused by lack of blood in the brain.
The BPO industry here in the Philippines says it is not bothered by this
issue. "We have all sorts of international labor organizations that say
that but there is really no study that singles out BPO workers. Of
course we pay huge attention to the health of our workers; we must
continue on attracting and maintaining a performing workforce and we
continue to find ways in order to do that. We invest a lot in health and
wellness programs for our workers, paying attention and incorporating
WHO campaigns on wellness programs, but we haven't really seen any study
that singles out BPO employees," said BPAP's Hernandez.
Even so, the industry takes pride in providing the best health care
benefits possible. "We definitely believe it puts a toll on people's
health and lifestyle so we go through extensive means to work with
employees and health care professionals to make sure that our employees
are briefed and educated on the proper lifestyle when you work at
night," said Borja.
He added that the industry has some of the best HMO or health care
benefits compared to other industries because they want to make sure
that their employees are well looked after.
"I think there's a lot more focus on what we are putting into we call
preventive health management rather than a reactive one. This means that
there's a lot of workshops and seminars that our companies run to
educate people and to make people aware on how to look after themselves
given this kind of work," said Borja. So indeed, prevention is still the
key. And when all else fails, employees can merely bring out their HMO
card, and the rest is taken care of.
The near future
The BPO industry is not far from the target income and growth that it
targeted at the start of the year. There are currently an estimated
650,000 Filipinos in the industry workforce, and the number is still
growing.
"We are probably at around $11.3 billion in revenue, we are projecting
at $20 billion at the conservative estimate, or $25 billion by 2016 at
an aggressive estimate. So you can imagine that's a huge increase that's
growing by double from $11.3 billion to $20 to $25 billion. Our run rate
is something around $11.3 billion so we are looking to grow by almost
double, or more than double in the case of the aggressive estimate,"
said Borja.
With these numbers, he said they have to be confident that they can
generate the manpower to support that because the revenue can be equated
to the number of people that they employ.
"For example, we are calculating to make $25 billion sop we need 1.3
million people to employ. In the conservative, we need 900,000 people to
make $20 billion. Right now we are currently employing I think about
650,000 today," says Borja.
And to BPAP, working with the government will ensure the industry's
continuous growth. "Through the Public-Private-Partnership Program we
are doing, we can maintain the growth of the industry if we continue to
do this."
A better option
The rise of the BPO industry has another seemingly unappreciated effect.
It gives qualified Filipinos the choice of staying home instead of
looking for better-paying jobs abroad.
Although the Philippines has been exporting manpower since the 1970s, it
is only in recent years that the ill effects of the brain drain has been
realized. Not only is the country losing its best and brightest minds,
but the social cost of broken families has become clear, with juvenile
delinquency and cheating spouses not uncommon among OFW families.
The industry gives workers a better option.
"There's no need for the OFWs to go outside the country to work. Through
BPO, they can stay here in the country with their family," said
Teleperformance's Lynn Ventilla.
Ventilla said that present growth path of the BPO companies do have
problems recruiting qualified manpower but this kind of challenge has
always been present.
"The challenge has always been there but we are still surviving, and in
fact, growing despite that. The government has never left us. They are
continuously supporting us," said Ventilla. "The reason why we are still
seeing confidence for the industry is because there are many
organizations that are helping us, especially non-government
organizations (NGOs)".
Since the Philippine economy has become so dependent on the BPO industry
to provide employment and boost the country's dollar reserves, it only
makes sense for the government and the private sector to make sure the
industry remains healthy.
Based on its present state, therefore, the Philippine BPO industry is
more than just healthy. If it were an athlete, its stature would be
considered Olympian. Or, as the Australian Conboy said, it's a powerhouse.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Written by MADELAINE MIRAFLOR REPORTER AND SHEILA MAÑALAC CORRESPONDENT
In grabbing control of the global business process outsourcing (BPO)
industry from India, the Philippines may have finally found the key to
long-term, sustainable economic growth that will lift the country out of
Third World status.
Up until two years ago, India had been the world's biggest BPO provider.
While BPO includes service support, sales and marketing, technical
support and front and back office operations, the biggest money earner
remain the inbound and outbound calls, which is why most Filipinos still
think of the BPO industry in call center terms.
Calls to and from customers are the bread and butter accounts of BPO
companies, and it is the primary reason the Philippines was able to
become the world's dominant player. In general, Filipinos speak English
better than their Indian counterparts, and since the US is the biggest
call center market in the world, it was inevitable that American
companies would transfer their business to the country which was once
their colony.
According to Martin Conboy, president of the Australian BPO Association,
the BPO industry in the Philippines will soon be the powerhouse of the
economy since it continues to remit millions of dollars to the country
without having to send workers abroad. And those remittances are
expected to continue to grow in the near to mid-term.
"Through BPO, Philippines will be the powerhouse of the global economy
in few years because it is a magnificent place to supply people who are
great workers when it comes to software," said Conboy.
Conboy also added that the Philippines produces a large number of
skilled and talented workers that unfortunately, are not being utilized
to the max. Not so with BPO companies. In this industry, a person's
skills determine how far up the totem pole the employee goes.
Already transitioning to developed status
Because of the BPO industry, the Philippines is already transitioning to
a developed country, Conboy added.
"In 12 years, the economy in the Philippines will double and the BPO
industry is about to be the biggest contributor to the GDP, which
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) contribute the most through their
remittances," said Conboy.
GDP or Gross Domestic Product is the sum total of all goods and services
produced by a country in a given year, excluding earnings from its
expatriate workers. If the past record of the industry is used as the
basis, then the industry's future — and that of the country — can only
be considered as bright.
Nora Terrado, president of the Software Industry Association of the
Philippines, said that this year the BPO-software industry in the
Philippines has so far posted 20 percent growth compared to the same
period last year, driven by increased demand from the US and Australia.
According to a report from the Business Processing Association
Philippines (BPAP), the IT-BPO and global in-house center industry in
the Philippines has grown at an annual rate of 30 percent over the last
decade, faster than the growth of the global offshore services market.
As it has grown, the industry has also diversified significantly in
breadth, scale, and maturity of services.
Said the BPAP: "IT-BPO industry is the Philippines' most important
generator of jobs. Its contribution to GDP was approximately five
percent in 2011, and it is the Philippines' third-largest net foreign
exchange earner after tourism and remittances from an estimated 10
million overseas workers.
"Its contribution to economic development is centered not only in the
nation's National Capital Region, but also in other highly urbanized
areas throughout the country, or Next Wave Cities. Employment in these
cities was estimated at 150,000 at the end of 2011."
End nowhere in sight
Despite its impressive growth in the past decade, the BPO industry in
the Philippines is still on the rise. Industry leaders maintain a
positive outlook that the end of this growth is still nowhere in sight.
From its beginning in 1999, when Cyber City set up an outsourcing
facility at the former United States Air Force base in Clark, Pampanga,
the growth of the industry has been steady. Not only has this helped the
economy, but it has also created jobs for Filipinos nationwide, since
roughly one out of five BPO jobs are now located outside Metro Manila.
Indeed, the industry has made the lives of Filipino workers easier
because the starting pay is close to double the minimum wage. Also, the
industry offers quality jobs for the country's large labor pool.
But now, there's a problem: filling the demand for qualified workers for
this fast-growing industry.
Although Filipinos are known to be good in English, a huge number of the
population is not really used to using this language in daily
conversation. The largest number of English-speaking Filipinos remains
concentrated in the Metro Manila area and the key cities. The supply may
seem to be running short.
But according to Rainerio "Bong" Borja, president and country manager of
NCO and APAC, and founder of the BPAP, the lack of quality manpower is
not an issue but only a challenge.
"I'm not convinced it's a problem because if you look at our raw
ingredient, we have 400,000 college graduates, and all of those
graduates are looking to be employed and take on white-collar work. Very
few of those 400,000 took up college to end up as farmers or factory
workers or other kinds of jobs. All of them, or most of them would
rather end up working a white collar job. And there is no other industry
that's actually employing in the same massive numbers as we are. So
basically, if you talk about availability of white-collar work we have a
monopoly of that," he told The Manila Times.
Proactively addressing the issue
The BPO industry has become such a key cog of the economy that it was
even mentioned in President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino's recent SONA.
The government is not blind to the potential manpower shortage that can
mar the growth of the industry. What better way to address the issue of
manpower than to partner with government institutions and universities,
where the "raw ingredient" comes from.
"We have different partnerships with government agencies. TESDA has P400
million in funds put in the industry, so we are training 65,000 scholars
who are almost employable and near hires. We are training them on
industry specific training and 70 percent are converted into hires. If
you do the math, that's 47,000 out of 65,000 trainees who are hires,"
Benedict Hernandez told The Manikla Times. He is the president and CEO
of BPAP and the Operations Lead for Accenture BPO Services Delivery in
the Philippines.
Hernandez said that everyone in the industry is being proactive in
supplying the manpower that they need to meet the demand. He said there
is actually no problem; it is only that the tremendous growth in the
industry has led to a rapid surge in the demand for quality manpower.
"The demand is huge, and the need to add supply of manpower is essential
for the growing industry," he said.
Aside from TESDA, the industry is also working with the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED). There is already a pilot deployment of the
Service Management Program, where college students can enroll while in
school and learn IT-BPO skills they need. "This program is ideal for any
service industry as we teach them universal skills such as service
orientation, business communication, and also fundamentals of IT-BPO,
among many more," said Hernandez. This is already being done in four
universities, and they expect to throw a wider net in the near future.
US anti-outsourcing bill
Industry leaders have been paying close attention to the upcoming US
presidential elections because incumbent President Barack Obama has made
an issue of challenger Mitt Romney's outsourcing of jobs that are
desperately needed by the stagnant US economy.
With the US economy in such a weak state – unemployment is slightly
below 8.3 percent as of this month — the "Bring Home Jobs Act" pushed by
Obama could be a threat to the growing BPO industry in the Philippines.
Should Obama win another four year term this November – most surveys
indicate that he has a good chance of defeating the gaffe-prone Mitt
Romney – then there could be a stumbling block to the continued growth
of the industry.
But people in the industry seem to think otherwise. "The US Senate
rejected the bill already. There is a similar bill that comes up every
now and then, although personally, I think this type of bill is
perfectionist in nature. We support the rationale of the rejection of
this bill, because outsourcing makes American companies more
competitive. It is said that the 2,500 multinational companies create
more jobs in the US domestically and therefore outsourcing actually
supports the American demand for employment," said Hernandez.
Also acting in the Philippines' favor is continued globalization, which
makes controlling private companies next to impossible. "It is very
difficult to actually restrict the US private companies to determine
where they will have their products manufactured or where they have
their products serviced anywhere in the globe, that is part of
globalization. Just like an HP computer which I have is actually made in
Taiwan, it is not made by HP in the US. It's coming from places where
the service can be done at lower cost without sacrificing quality, or
better service at lower cost. So they can't say they have to move it
back to the US and sell these computers at higher cost and make the
consumer pay more for every call they make. So it's going to be
difficult to reverse that trend I think," according to Borja.
Health issues
There are other issues.
Although the risks are high, the industry still employs over half a
million workers to date. Since the BPO industry is known to service
consumers outside the country, particularly in the US, workers have to
adapt to the time difference, and that means working at night.
The British Medical Journal came out with an analysis of studies that
involved more than two million night shift workers, stating that shift
work disrupt the body clock and have an adverse effects on lifestyle.
This has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure,
diabetes, heart attack and stroke caused by lack of blood in the brain.
The BPO industry here in the Philippines says it is not bothered by this
issue. "We have all sorts of international labor organizations that say
that but there is really no study that singles out BPO workers. Of
course we pay huge attention to the health of our workers; we must
continue on attracting and maintaining a performing workforce and we
continue to find ways in order to do that. We invest a lot in health and
wellness programs for our workers, paying attention and incorporating
WHO campaigns on wellness programs, but we haven't really seen any study
that singles out BPO employees," said BPAP's Hernandez.
Even so, the industry takes pride in providing the best health care
benefits possible. "We definitely believe it puts a toll on people's
health and lifestyle so we go through extensive means to work with
employees and health care professionals to make sure that our employees
are briefed and educated on the proper lifestyle when you work at
night," said Borja.
He added that the industry has some of the best HMO or health care
benefits compared to other industries because they want to make sure
that their employees are well looked after.
"I think there's a lot more focus on what we are putting into we call
preventive health management rather than a reactive one. This means that
there's a lot of workshops and seminars that our companies run to
educate people and to make people aware on how to look after themselves
given this kind of work," said Borja. So indeed, prevention is still the
key. And when all else fails, employees can merely bring out their HMO
card, and the rest is taken care of.
The near future
The BPO industry is not far from the target income and growth that it
targeted at the start of the year. There are currently an estimated
650,000 Filipinos in the industry workforce, and the number is still
growing.
"We are probably at around $11.3 billion in revenue, we are projecting
at $20 billion at the conservative estimate, or $25 billion by 2016 at
an aggressive estimate. So you can imagine that's a huge increase that's
growing by double from $11.3 billion to $20 to $25 billion. Our run rate
is something around $11.3 billion so we are looking to grow by almost
double, or more than double in the case of the aggressive estimate,"
said Borja.
With these numbers, he said they have to be confident that they can
generate the manpower to support that because the revenue can be equated
to the number of people that they employ.
"For example, we are calculating to make $25 billion sop we need 1.3
million people to employ. In the conservative, we need 900,000 people to
make $20 billion. Right now we are currently employing I think about
650,000 today," says Borja.
And to BPAP, working with the government will ensure the industry's
continuous growth. "Through the Public-Private-Partnership Program we
are doing, we can maintain the growth of the industry if we continue to
do this."
A better option
The rise of the BPO industry has another seemingly unappreciated effect.
It gives qualified Filipinos the choice of staying home instead of
looking for better-paying jobs abroad.
Although the Philippines has been exporting manpower since the 1970s, it
is only in recent years that the ill effects of the brain drain has been
realized. Not only is the country losing its best and brightest minds,
but the social cost of broken families has become clear, with juvenile
delinquency and cheating spouses not uncommon among OFW families.
The industry gives workers a better option.
"There's no need for the OFWs to go outside the country to work. Through
BPO, they can stay here in the country with their family," said
Teleperformance's Lynn Ventilla.
Ventilla said that present growth path of the BPO companies do have
problems recruiting qualified manpower but this kind of challenge has
always been present.
"The challenge has always been there but we are still surviving, and in
fact, growing despite that. The government has never left us. They are
continuously supporting us," said Ventilla. "The reason why we are still
seeing confidence for the industry is because there are many
organizations that are helping us, especially non-government
organizations (NGOs)".
Since the Philippine economy has become so dependent on the BPO industry
to provide employment and boost the country's dollar reserves, it only
makes sense for the government and the private sector to make sure the
industry remains healthy.
Based on its present state, therefore, the Philippine BPO industry is
more than just healthy. If it were an athlete, its stature would be
considered Olympian. Or, as the Australian Conboy said, it's a powerhouse.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CARLOS ANI - International Microfinance Consultant - SEEDFINANCE Corporation Chairman
Mailing address: PO Box 90 UPLB Los Banos Laguna, Philippines 4031
Emails: carlosani@gmail.com , carlosani@seedfinance.net
Landline Phone: +63495010127 (PLDT)
Cellphone Numbers: +639152919580 (Globe) and +639328590859 (Sun)
Websites:
CARLOSANI.COM - http://www.carlosani.com
DEVJOBS - http://www.devjobsmail.com
PHILDEVFINANCE - http://phildevfinance.posterous.com
http://phildevfinance.blogspot.com
Family website - http://www.anifamily.net
SEEDFINANCE Corporation - http://www.seedfinance.net
My News Clippings - http://www.myclipps.posterous.com
Skype name: carlosaniph
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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