The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) criticized the failure of the Senate Committee on Agriculture to resolve the continued delay in releasing much-needed loans under the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF). Based on reports presented during the Senate Committee on Agriculture meeting last week, the Land Bank of the Philippines has lent all the P4.16 billion it had received from ACEF as of January 2020, but had to stop lending while waiting for the fund to be replenished. Currently, some P3.5 billion in loan proposals from more than 2,000 loan applicants remain pending. Bureau of Customs reports indicate the ACEF special account still has a balance of over P3 billion, which FFF National Manager Raul Montemayor said could be disbursed immediately. “It is unfortunate that Sen. [Cynthia] Villar centered on an administrative issue instead of finding a way to address the urgent credit needs of farmers. Besides, there is nothing wrong with the DA (Department of Agriculture) having overall control and oversight over ACEF funds,” he said.
