THE Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) announced it approved P1.2-billion worth of loans to fund the purchase of modern vehicles last year.
The state-run bank said in a statement that the loans were extended to 25 borrowers, allowing them to acquire 574 modern units.
Over 40 loan applications, amounting to P2.53 billion, are currently in the bank’s pipeline for the acquisition of 1,126 modern units. This includes the government subsidy of P160,000 per vehicle.
The financing support is under the bank’s support package for public utility vehicles, which it said is aimed at providing affordable lending to transport cooperatives and corporations for the purchase of modern jeepneys.
The LandBank introduced last year a credit facility for bus operators to finance their vehicle acquisition. The bank lodged an initial fund of P3 billion in this borrowing program. The loan facility can lend up to 80 percent of the acquisition cost. Fixed interest rate is set at 5 percent per annum for the first three years.
The state-run bank said it also teamed up with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and its attached agencies in launching various programs related to transport modernization initiatives.
The bank said it has distributed over P795-million worth of direct cash grants under the fuel subsidy scheme. Over 122,300 transport operators received P6,500 worth of subsidy each. The distribution of cash grants is eyed to be completed by April.
The bank said in a statement released last Sunday it provided appraisal services for the North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project. It has also delivered cash entitlements to eligible residents and other project-affected persons of the said project, which is designed to expand the mass transportation in Metro Manila and adjacent areas.
In addition, the bank said its partnership with the DOTr includes the pilot production testing of the automatic fare collection system in public transport.