The Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) said on Wednesday it has extended for another year its amnesty program to allow more defaulting borrowers to settle their outstanding obligations with the agri-credit guarantee agency.
Quedancor Officer-in charge and president Armando R. Crobalde, Jr. said many delinquent borrowers who are interested to avail of the Quedancor Amnesty Program (QAP) are just waiting for their finances to improve.
In the first year of the QAP’s implementation, Crobalde said the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) was able to recover P48.8 million. Some P13.26 million worth of loans are still under process.
“The borrowers were happy that the bigger portion of their outstanding loans was deducted after P67.7 million worth of penalties and surcharges were condoned,” Crobalde said in a statement.
Under the QAP, qualified borrowers, their comakers, and heirs who want to settle their defaulting accounts under a Quedancor program may apply for loan amnesty and pay in full or installment term for a maximum of three years.
Quedancor borrowers are mostly small farmers, fishermen, market retailers and small-scale agripreneurs.
For full settlement, surcharges and penalties will be condoned plus waiver of outstanding additional interest for the first five years; while installment payment also enjoys condonation of surcharges and penalties; 50-percent reduction of outstanding additional interest and repricing of interest rate on the outstanding principal subject of QAP.
Outstanding interest may be paid outright, or amortized by the borrower within the term of the loan under the QAP, which can be for a maximum term of three years.
Under Republic Act 7393, Crobalde said Quedancor has the power to prescribe fees and charges for its services and fix interest and penalty charges for delinquent accounts, but condonation or reduction of interests shall be subject to the approval of higher authorities, such as the Commission on Audit, the president, or Congress. This, he said, became the legal basis for the implementation of QAP.
Borrowers who wish to apply under the amnesty program may approach the Collection and Remedial Management Officer of Quedancor in the regional offices handling their accounts or call the Collection and Remedial Accounts Division of the agency’s main office.