Negrenses inaugurate Dungganon Bank Inc.

The inauguration of Dungganon Bank Inc. Saturday was a low-key affair. It did not merit a special event coverage by ABS-CBN or even local television stations. But it was something people should be proud of. The bank is a tribute to the commitment of the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation.

Actually, there’s no secret about Project Dungganon. It actually started in 1984 when then Negros Occidental Gov. Daniel Lacson Jr. convinced Dr. Cecilio del Castillo, who was then a provincial board member, to set up a program patterned after the US-based Grammend Bank of Professor Mohammed Yunus.

The core group that Cecile organized was the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation. The society matrons of Negros Occidental and other non-government organizations pitched in to set up a micro-lending project.

Their basic strategy was to lend small capital housewives. Studies showed that women play an important role not just in the family but in society as well.

In short, housewives could play a vital role in instilling the value of thrift and honesty in business.

One of the major things that initially hindered the promoters of the Grammend Bank concept was the tendency of some beneficiaries to consider loans as grants. This was because a lot of the poor had been pampered by government loans which were later condoned by the government.

But the money of the foundation was private fund. Thus, the first approach was to instill among target clients an awareness on the need to manage their resources well.

It was not exactly a rosy prospect. Project Dungganon found itself suffered from poor repayments at the start. But through hard work and consultations, the board eventually managed to pinpoint problems and solve them.

After several years, 99 percent of loan grantees were repaying their loans.. The women learned the virtue of thrift and the number of participants in the program grew exponentially.

Today, there are 63,193 active clients and 113,651 outreach participants. Of the active participants, 43,456 are from Negros Island.

But it may delight many to know that Dungganon has branches now in Palawan, Samar and Cebu. A testimonial to how many have joined the silent revolution that has transformed lives and families.

Saturday’s inauguration was attended by Gil Lacson of the Women’s World Banking and Nigel Biggar of the Grammend Bank of the United States, as well as Michael Springer of the Catholic Relief Society, Ed Jimenes of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Mrs. Iluminada Cabigas of the MicroFinance Council of the Philippines. Also present was Noel Poso of the PCFC.

Among the key local officials who graced the opening of the new thrift bank were Rep. Monico Puentevella and his wife, Josefa, and City Mayor Bing Leonardia and spouse.

Dr. Del Castillo other members of the NWTF land board headed by Wilhelmina Gonzales were beaming. Also present were secretary Anne Marie Jison, treasurer Ma. Teresa Montelibano, and board members Teresita Benedicto, Elmira Maglasang, Janet Jalbuena, and lone male member, Roberto Abello.

Dr. Del Castillo is actually the executive director. Corazon Henares, is deputy director for operations while Suzette Gaston is director for administration and finance.

Lawyer Wilfred Domo-ong, director of Supervision and Examination Department of the BSP, cut the ceremonial ribbon with Dr. Del Castillo, now president of the Dungganon Bank.

Fr. Emilio Henares blessed the bank at the NWTF building.

Proof of what Dungganon Bank stands for was the hundreds of small people who have formed a crowd around the bank since early yesterday morning, the opening day of banking transactions. By noontime, there was a steady stream of people, mostly women, streaming into the bank.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had invited Dr. Del Castillo to join her Cabinet and handle the microfinancing program of the government two years ago. Dr. Del Castillo, however, declined the invitation.

Ironically, many of the housewives who joined Project Dungganon have now risen into the ranks of entrepreneurs. Some have gone into fish sauce-making. One already has her fleet of small fishing boats. Some have ventured into hog-raising.

But one thing that is worth seeing is the greatly improved living standards of these housewives who have learned to earn a living through thrift and honesty.

This is the true revolution. Uplifting the lives of the poor by allowing them to borrow capital to improve their quality of life.

Three Botika ng Bayan inaugurated

The government also inaugurated over the weekend three Botika ng Bayan (BnB) outlets in Bacolod City. Teddie Elson Rivera, Philippine International Trading Corporation executive vice president, led the launching.

The three BnB outlets are Health family Pharmacy along Locsin and Cuadra Streets, JF Pharmacy and Libertad JDN Pharmacy along Lacson Street.

According to Rivera, each outlet will be required to have at least one physician to guide consumers when buying medicines.

Medicines available are imported from India, Pakistan and Thailand. They are of the same quality as the branded medicines from some of the multinational drug firms.

Customers can actually save as much as 50 percent by buying the cheaper medicines from BnB outlets.

That makes Negrenses the first ever to avail of the cheaper medical preparations the government has been importing, which brings down cost of medicines significantly.

When he was still Trade and Industry Secretary, Sen. Mar Roxas actually promoted medical products from the three countries mentioned. He noted that they are cheaper they are similar in content to branded medicines distributed locally by multinational corporations.