Department of Education (DepEd) gearing up for the benefits of the teachers and employees to avail loans through the Land Bank of the Philippines’ (LBP) Livelihood Loan Facility.
Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC said that this as an excellent opportunity for teachers and other DepEd Employees to improve their financial welfare by availing of low interest rates offered by LBP.
The Livelihood Loan Facility has a fixed interest rate of 10.5% per annum. Employees can borrow the equivalent of up to 8 months of their gross pay but not exceeding five hundred thousand pesos (PhP 500,000) for qualified rank- and- file employees and one million pesos (PhP 1,000,000) for qualified Department Officials.
The rate offered by LBP is much lower than the rates offered by most private lenders who are accredited under DepEd’s salary deduction program. For a starting teacher borrowing at the maximum amount, the savings in amortization is approximately one thousand pesos (PhP 1,000) per month which goes a long way in increasing the net take home pay of teachers.
DepEd already has a standing agreement with the LBP where the latter facilitates the release of monthly salaries of DepEd employees through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards. With this agreement, employees who avail of the Livelihood Loan Facility can receive their loans through their bank accounts. Monthly amortizations towards payment of the loan could be made over-the-counter through salary deductions.
The DepEd acknowledged that personal loan requirements in most lending institutions, such as necessary collateral and security, have made loans inaccessible. LBP has agreed that these loans shall be secured by the borrower’s assignment of funds such as salaries, allowances, leave credits and other monetary deliverables to the borrower’s bank account.
To qualify for a loan, borrowers must be regular/ permanent employees of DepEd, between 18 and 62 years of age, and have been in service for at least one year. Because of the nature of the loan it is expected that employees maintain an LBP ATM Payroll account. There are restrictions however. Borrowers should not have any pending criminal or administrative cases against them, must have no pending applications for retirement or due for retirement within the term of the loan. Borrowers must also have a monthly net take home pay of at least three thousand pesos (PhP 3,000). Monthly Net take-home pay refers to the amount after considering all deductions and amortizations of all existing loans including the livelihood loan applied for.
Aside from Secretary Luistro, other officials present during the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing were LBP President Gilda. E. Pico, LBP Senior Vice President OIC Branch Banking Sector Marilyn M. Tiongson, Department of Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, DOF Undersecretary Jeremias N. Paul, Jr., DepEd Undersecretary for Finance and Administration Francisco M. Varela, and DepEd Regional Directors and Finance Officers from Regions IV-A, IV-B, and NCR.
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