15 November 2005
‘No collateral’ livelihood loans
By Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr.
PIA-Pangasinan Infocenter
A novel and aggressive livelihood program launched in the town of Alcala this year is literally taking barangay San Pedro Ili here – where it is being piloted by the organizers led by the forward-thinking Vice Mayor Clemente B. Arboleda, Jr – by storm.
Seeking to improve the lot of his townmates who are mostly soil tillers planting tobacco, peanuts and other less profitable crops, Arboleda and his group, assisted by Umico, a tested private agency, are providing qualified groups of five to eight barangay residents a flat P5,000 “character loan” each under a most liberal repayment or amortization plan.
The livelihood loan comes without any collateral being asked of the borrowers.
“The only thing we ask my townmates is that they use the amount for their livelihood projects that could range from anything to anything – sari-sari store, piggery, poultry, native cake-making, dry goods retail and other backyard projects that would not normally be given funding assistance by financing institutions,” the vice mayor said.
The Arboleda family had actually started the livelihood venture on a district-wide scale based in Urdaneta City a couple of years ago.
“This year however, I convinced my father and the family to concentrate the livelihood assistance project in Alcala and I made a solemn guarantee that it will “click” in this town. The success of the pilot opening in San Pedro Ili proved me right,” the youthful, project-driven Arboleda narrated.
He said once the project comes off well in the evaluation by early next year, he would be launching it town-wide with municipal officials and barangay councils being briefed on the fundamentals and asked to participate towards making the barangays a showcase of self-employment.
Arboleda added that for the successful loan recipients who are prompt with their amortizations, computed at a mere P14 a day or P425 a month based on a “very minimal interest”, Umico could progressively lend as much as P10,000 the next time around.
Functioning quite like the government’s SEA-Kaunlaran livelihood concept, according to Arboleda, the project would draw its strength and dependability on the member-borrowers’ own influence over each other – since they will be sharing the burden of repayment as well as the fruits of their own business ventures.
“It basically works on the assumption that our people need a break – and when this is offered to them and they waste it away, they (will) have only themselves to blame later, not their neighbors, not their officials, not their government.”
He said this being in the nature of a “character loan”, the credit-worthiness of a borrower will be vouched for by pre-identified screeners.
PIA-Pangasinan Infocenter
A novel and aggressive livelihood program launched in the town of Alcala this year is literally taking barangay San Pedro Ili here – where it is being piloted by the organizers led by the forward-thinking Vice Mayor Clemente B. Arboleda, Jr – by storm.
Seeking to improve the lot of his townmates who are mostly soil tillers planting tobacco, peanuts and other less profitable crops, Arboleda and his group, assisted by Umico, a tested private agency, are providing qualified groups of five to eight barangay residents a flat P5,000 “character loan” each under a most liberal repayment or amortization plan.
The livelihood loan comes without any collateral being asked of the borrowers.
“The only thing we ask my townmates is that they use the amount for their livelihood projects that could range from anything to anything – sari-sari store, piggery, poultry, native cake-making, dry goods retail and other backyard projects that would not normally be given funding assistance by financing institutions,” the vice mayor said.
The Arboleda family had actually started the livelihood venture on a district-wide scale based in Urdaneta City a couple of years ago.
“This year however, I convinced my father and the family to concentrate the livelihood assistance project in Alcala and I made a solemn guarantee that it will “click” in this town. The success of the pilot opening in San Pedro Ili proved me right,” the youthful, project-driven Arboleda narrated.
He said once the project comes off well in the evaluation by early next year, he would be launching it town-wide with municipal officials and barangay councils being briefed on the fundamentals and asked to participate towards making the barangays a showcase of self-employment.
Arboleda added that for the successful loan recipients who are prompt with their amortizations, computed at a mere P14 a day or P425 a month based on a “very minimal interest”, Umico could progressively lend as much as P10,000 the next time around.
Functioning quite like the government’s SEA-Kaunlaran livelihood concept, according to Arboleda, the project would draw its strength and dependability on the member-borrowers’ own influence over each other – since they will be sharing the burden of repayment as well as the fruits of their own business ventures.
“It basically works on the assumption that our people need a break – and when this is offered to them and they waste it away, they (will) have only themselves to blame later, not their neighbors, not their officials, not their government.”
He said this being in the nature of a “character loan”, the credit-worthiness of a borrower will be vouched for by pre-identified screeners.
