P10M fund slated for Mt Province OFWs, groups

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon 

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Overseas contract workers of this province, groups and individuals engaged in business of this  fourth class province are now reaping benefits of government programs.

The provincial government, headed by Gov. Leonard Mayaen has allotted P10 million as loan assistance for outgoing migrant workers to aid them in placement fees and  home-based individuals and groups for capital needs in business endeavors.

Of  the 10 million trust fund, the Provincial Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) loan assistance fund of  P5 million has benefitted 98  OFWs  since the program started  June 2011.  The OFW loan grantees -13 of them men and 85 women- work as domestic  helpers in   Hongkong and the rest in Saudi Arabia. Others are deployed as  factory workers in Taiwan.

Executive assistant CythiaTaguiba said the OFW assistance  program  loans out  P50,000 to P100,000  per approved OFW applicant with a 5% interest per year.

The loan is payable within a year and the monthly payment remitted to the provincial  coffers via ATM.  

The OFW starts paying two months after start of overseas work.   And as per agreement with the OFW and the Provincial government  in case the OFW does not pay  on time,  the monthly amortized loan is deducted from  the salary of  the Provincial LGU employee who acts as co-maker- guarantor.

Interested OFWs who want to avail of this financial assistance from the provincial government unit are required to submit copies of their work contract and visa.

Of the current OFW loan grantees, 36 are from Bontoc,  16 from Tadian, 10 from Bauko, 10 from Sabangan, 8 from Sadanga, 6 from Barlig, 4 from Besao and 3 from Sagada.  Twenty of the 29 have fully paid their dues and the rest are paying their amortized monthly loans regularly.

The OFW loan assistance program of the provincial government aids OFWs who avail of the province’s program to answer their placement fee needs instead of them loaning usurious amounts from money lenders who  lend  as high as 10% interest a month.

Taguiba said the loan assistance program may also extend to linkages with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on their  livelihood assistance programs  for  OFWS who want to come home  for good and start their own business. 

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For Mountain Province based constituents  who need capital to start their own business initiatives, the  Livelihood  Development Program of the provincial  government  loans money to self-help groups and cooperatives at 5% interest per year, Provincial Cooperatives  Development  officer  Dora Challongen said.

A seed fund of  P5 million for the livelihood development program  has been allotted by  Gov. Mayaen in November 2011.

The collateralized loan is secured with real properties or a permanent employee acting as  co-maker guarantor whose salary is deducted the amortized monthly loan upon the principal loan- grantee’s default in payments.

To date, there are 29 groups and  cooperatives who already availed of the livelihood  assistance development program. Some P2.4 million has been loaned out  with amounts ranging from  P50,000 to P100,000 per group.  

To date, four groups have already fully paid their  loan.  At least 10 loan grantees are paying their dues on time and 15 groups are urged to pay their monthly dues regularly.

Of the 29 approved loan grantees, 14 are into swine raising; 8 into setting up their own business as bakery,  furniture shop, tailoring, weaving, coffee shop and cafeteria; 4 into retail business, and 3 into  fishery, vegetable gardening and palay threshing.

Twenty of the 29 loan grantees are from Bontoc, 4 from Bauko, 3  fromSagada, and 2 from Sabangan.Loan payments are plowed back to the revolving livelihood  fund to serve other groups in need of  start-up capital for  their respective business endeavors.