Landbank offers P150,000 loan for students

MANILA, Philippines — The state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) is offering loans worth P150,000 per student to parents and guardians who may have a difficult time raising money to pay tuition amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Monday.

Landbank’s Interim Students’ Loan for Tuition toward Upliftment of Education for the Development of the Youth (i-STUDY) loan program will carry an interest rate of 5 percent per annum, the DOF said in a statement, citing a recent report of Landbank president and chief executive Cecilia Borromeo to Finance Secretary and Landbank chair Carlos Dominguez III.

Borromeo told Dominguez that the i-STUDY program was launched “in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call on [Landbank] to support students during this time of crisis.”

—Ben O. de Vera