THE House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading two bills aimed at regulating cooperative banks and reorganizing the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank).
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said the proposed Cooperative Banking Act and New Landbank Act would help strengthen the cooperative sector, which plays a key role in development, especially in the countryside.
“We hope that through these two legislative measures, we will be able to provide more sound and sustainable financial and credit services to cooperatives and their members,” Velasco said.
“Now, more than ever, we need to strengthen the cooperative sector as a measure to counter extreme conditions of poverty and improve the livelihoods of rural communities,” he added.
The House chief lauded and thanked the authors and sponsors of the twin measures led by Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, who chairs the Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries.
Voting 156-0-0, the legislative chamber approved on final reading House Bill (HB) 9541, which provides for the registration, regulation and operation of cooperative banks (CBs).
The bill recognizes CBs as practical vehicles for the promotion of self-reliance and economic development, and the attainment of social justice.
It seeks to regulate and supervise activities of CBs in order to achieve sound, stable, sustainable and efficient operations for the protection of the public interest.
Meanwhile, the chamber—in a vote of 160-0-0—approved on final reading HB 10581 providing for a new charter of Landbank, a government financial institution whose mandate is to promote countryside development, helping spur credit activity and financial inclusivity.
Under the bill, Landbank shall continue to provide accessible and innovative solutions to deliver timely and responsive financial and support services to rural financial institutions, as well as small farmers, fisherfolk and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).
In line with its mandate, Landbank shall allocate 5 percent of its regular loan portfolio for socialized credit to qualified small farmers, fisherfolk and ARBs, pursuant to Republic Act 10000, or The Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009.
Loans under this special socialized credit facility shall have an interest rate equivalent to not more than 75 percent of Landbank’s prevailing rates for loans to cooperatives.
Also on Monday, the House ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the bill increasing the benefits currently provided to solo parents under RA 8972 or the Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000, including monthly cash subsidies and automatic health insurance coverage.
The legislative chamber also approved on final reading HB 10554 extending for another 25 years the franchise granted to Davao Light and Power Company Inc. to operate and maintain a power system in Davao City, Panabo City and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali and Santo Tomas in Davao del Norte province.
At the same time, the House passed on second reading HB 10575 which seeks to enhance the competitiveness of Philippine maritime trade by strengthening the oversight functions of relevant government agencies over the imposition of shipping charges by international shipping lines and institutionalizing mechanisms for the efficient movement of goods; HB 10612 which seeks to provide for the full and effective implementation and enforcement of international maritime instruments to which the Philippines is a party state; and HB granting Oro Broadcasting Network Inc. a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain radio and TV stations in the country.
It also approved on second reading 4 local bills and adopted 5 House resolutions, including one urging government to use a “whole-of-nation” approach in providing effective pandemic response and interventions for the poor.
The House likewise adopted a concurrent resolution allowing Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and other military officials to receive an award from Indonesian President Joko Widodo in recognition of their efforts in fostering Philippine-Indonesia relations and for the rescue of Indonesian fishermen from Abu Sayyaf abductors in December 2019.