State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has released more than P753-million in loans under a specialized loan financing program that aims to help transport corporations and cooperatives acquire modern and environment-friendly jeepney units, a top official said.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said a total of 53 transport cooperatives have availed of the funding support under the Bank’s Program Assistance to Support Alternative Driving Approaches (DBP PASADA) initiative, which was conceived in 2017 to support the National Government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
“DBP’s financial assistance reflects our strong and firm commitment to the government’s PUV modernization program,” Herbosa said. “We are one with the public’s desire for a reliable, efficient and safe public transportation.”
DBP is the eighth largest bank in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy – infrastructure and logistics; micro, small and medium enterprises; environment; social services and community development. As of end-2019, DBP’s loan portfolio stood at P413.9-billion with about 3.6 percent, or P14.89-billion, accounting for the transportation sector.
The DBP PASADA Financing Program is a special loan financing facility available to corporations and cooperatives registered with the Office of Transportation Cooperatives, participating in the PUVMP and qualified to receive franchises by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) under the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines of the PUVMP.
Herbosa said there is a need to ramp up support to further improve the country’s mass transportation system to mitigate the impact to the economy of the existing enhanced community quarantine.
He said an efficient public transport system remains an important component in shoring up investor confidence as the country gradually recovers from the ill-effects of the pandemic.
“State financing institutions such as DBP would continue to assist public transport operators and cooperatives as they grapple with the challenges of the “new normal” spawned by this global pandemic,” Herbosa said.