DBP extends environment, business grants

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) will release roughly P5 million as a grant for new business and environment projects in the province of Palawan.

Since it is not a loan, the recipients will not have to pay any principal or interest except sign an agreement to pursue the projects to its sustainable conclusion.

DBP president and chief executive officer Reynaldo G. David said that the different grants forms part of the government financial institutions corporate social responsibility and its specific advocacy as a development institution.

The grant in Palawan forms part of its development and environment advocacy program with a total amount of P50 million. The amount in turn came from a grant extended by KfW of Germany.

Over the weekend, the DBP signed separate agreements for the development of two DBP Forest projects and the establishment of a business assistance center in the area under the Sustainable Partnership for Energizing Entrepreneurship Development (SPEED) Program.

The participating parties were the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) and the Palawan State University (PSU).

DBP is tapping PSU as a partner for the reforestation of a 157-hectare area within the 500-hectare site covered by the PSU Socialized Industrial Forest Management Agreement (SIFMA) at Sitio Tindalen, Barangay Culasian in the municipality of Rizal. Project cost will reach P3.6 million.

The DBP Forest project will cover residual forest enrichment, identified core and restricted zones, and specific areas to be planted to indigenous forest and fruit trees, high-value fruit trees, rubber and abaca.

The project will contribute in the rehabilitation, protection, enhancement and management of the identified forest site thus improving soil, water, flora and fauna conservation.

It will likewise complement Palawan’s ecotourism industry while involving farmer-beneficiaries as important players in creating livelihood opportunities through the project.

DBP will also launch its eighth business assistance center (BAC) at the PSU campus that will serve as a one-stop shop for micro, small and medium enterprises in the province. The center received P200,000 as initial seed capital and another P300,000 as the project gets of the ground.

The BAC, which will bring together under one roof the resources and services of government agencies and private institutions participating in the SPEED program to serve the various business counseling, marketing and promotional needs of target MSMEs, will be located at the PSU grounds.

"SPEED aims to assist the entrepreneurial poor who are at the bottom end of the micro-enterprise category. This disadvantaged sector has no assets at all, or very little capital to start and sustain a business or livelihood project. Clearly, they cannot even hope to comply with bank requirements to access credit and other support services to enable them to grow their business and be competitive," David said.

The PCSD will be the second DBP Forest partner for the reforestation of a 20-hectare mangrove site in Barangay Isugod in the municipality of Quezon.

The project, worth P900,000 is expected to restore the natural system for sustainable resource utilization; protect the coastal areas against ecological and natural disasters; enhance community awareness on the economic, ecological and social importance of mangrove forests; and increase people’s participation in managing mangrove resources. – TPT