Landbank open to hike P3-B loan facility for bus modernization

MANILA – State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) is willing to increase its PHP3-billion lending facility for the government’s bus modernization program if additional needs arise.

“Yes, if there will be a need and also if the program or the availers prove to be viable,” Landbank president and chief executive officer Cecilia Borromeo said during the virtual signing of six transport modernization programs with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Monday.

The bus modernization program, or the Interim Rehabilitation Support to Cushion Unfavorably-affected Enterprises by Covid-19 for Better Urban Services (I-RESCUE BUS) transport lending program, aims to support public transportation cooperatives that are members of the consortium selected for the Metro Manila Bus Modernization Program.

Borrowers may tap the lending facility to as much as 80 percent of a vehicle’s acquisition cost at a fixed 5 percent annual interest rate for the first three years. Maximum loan term is seven years, including a two-year grace period on the principal amount.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the plans, procedures, and rules of this program, along with that of the Support Package for Environment-friendly and Efficiently-Driven PUV (SPEED PUV) program, are among those signed by Borromeo and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, among others, during a virtual event Monday.

The other programs include the North-South Commuter Railway Extension (NSCR-Ex) Appraisal Project, the Resettlement Action Plan Entitlements Distribution Mechanism, Distribution of Cash Subsidy for Operators, and the Automatic Fare Collection System-Pilot Production Testing.

Among others, Landbank has been tasked to appraise properties that will be affected by the construction of the NSCR-Ex project, which is targeted to provide additional public transportation to more people in Metro Manila and nearby areas, and lessen traffic congestion around the metropolis.

Areas that will be appraised for this project are 15 clustered sites, five of which will be in Bulacan and Pampanga, and 10 in Manila, Makati and Laguna.

Landbank will serve as distribution agent for the cash that will be given to people who will be resettled because of the railway project.

Meanwhile, the bank has been tapped for the distribution of subsidy for public utility vehicles (PUV) operators affected by the suspension of public transportation with the implementation of Covid-19 health protocols.

Landbank also has been selected by the DoTr for the pilot production testing of the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS), which will use EMV-equipped contactless cards powered by Mastercard as payment instrument in public transportation like those plying the 17-kilometer Edsa.

During the online event, Tugade said he aims to start the implementation of AFCS “before the end of this month.”