This year, the Land Bank of the Philippines celebrated its 45th anniversary. Tracing the years of its outstanding service to the Philippines, the Bank launched the book, “Winning Ways: People, Values, Excellence. 45 Years of the Land Bank of the Philippines” by Maria Rosa Carrion-Buck, published by Seagull Phils., Inc. last July 21, 2009.

Land Bank was created to support R.A. No. 3844, the Agricultural Land Reform Code, an Act intended to “emancipate the Filipino farmer.” Land Bank was “to provide timely and adequate financial support to all phases of Agrarian Reform.” Through its forty-five years, the Bank has had seven great men at its helm, providing the leadership and guidance from its inception to its current success: Dr. Jose Katigbank and Benjamin del Rosario who became the first presidents, followed by five other presidents after the Bank’s Charter was reconstituted to become the first universal bank in the Philippines – they were Basilio M. Estanislao, Deogracias Vistan, Jesli Lapus, Florido Casuela, and Margarito Teves. Today, the Bank is headed by its first woman president, Gilda E. Pico, at whose instance the book was commissioned.

The first part of the book naturally focused on the achievements of the foregoing, but I have chosen to focus in this article on testimonials and reminiscences of those who have worked for the Bank and how their lives have been better for their having been a part of the Land Bank. Some of the testimonials come from the likes of former Secretary of Finance Cesar Virata, but many of the stories in the book are related by officials as well as lower-ranking employees, as well as by those while not part of the Bank, have been touched somehow through loans and assistance extended them.

Of course I would never be able to summarize or enumerate these testimonials (try to get a copy of the book!), but let me make the over-all conclusion that all these men and women, some of whom were there from the very start, and went through the birth pangs of a new and unique institution, would say of their stints: “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” (Cesare Paverse, quoted in the book) In the stories told by officers and staff were remembered moments from their days in the original ACA office in Taft Avenue, to their move to the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Roxas Boulevard, to their move to Buendia St. in Makati, and their move to a building of their own at last, in Manila
again, just off Roxas Boulevard. The pioneer staff of Land Bank were drawn from the Department of Agriculture, ACA, the Central Bank of the Philippines, the National Tax Research Center, from SGV, as well as from other private companies. Through the years, the method of recruitment to the Bank has been based on competence, integrity, and high qualifications. Many of the recruits stayed on for several years, often moving on to high government positions as well as top positions in private and other government banks. In their reminiscences, they have placed a high value on their experience with the Land Bank and with the mentoring of revered presidents of the Bank. Examples of these are: Remy Macalincag who became the first woman President of the DBP, Tirso Antiporda, Jr. who became President of Pilipinas Bank, Arnulfo Fuentebella who got elected to the House of Representatives, Raul Goco who became Solicitor General of the Philippines, Victor Macalincag who became Treasurer of the Philippines and Undersecretary of Finance, Rudy Timbol who works with the Puyat Group, and Felixberto Bustos who went back to teaching at the AIM, to name a few.

Regaling readers of the book are the experiences of Land Bank officers and staff who were assigned
to various departments (some of them having to organize new departments as the need arose over the years) or to countryside branches, or to new adjunct or related LBP corporations, such as the LBP Realty Corporation, the Peoples Credit and Finance Corporation and the National Livelihood and Development Corporation. They were also to meet the new challenges of information technology
and the need to organize ways by which overseas Filipino workers could send their earnings to their families. It is clear that these people who have grown with Land Bank realize the benefits they have obtained by simply being part of the team, and are also proud of how they have become part of the legacy that the Bank leaves with the Filipino people.

And then of course, there are the testimonials of those who have benefited from the facilities that Land Bank has provided them, helping them to improve their lives through loans extended for small entrepreneurship programs. Land Bank as conduit for credit assistance to the countryside can be perceived in the smile of the farmer, of the proprietor of an exporter of embroidered fabrics, of the widow who embarked on a small piggery business through a cooperative – Land Bank has also been at the forefront of the cooperative movement – all these are indicative of what the heart and soul of Land Bank is about.

Indeed, while the vision and mission of Land Bank is clearly stated referring to what this financial
institution is about – ensuring countryside development through timely financial and technical assistance, the stories of the “little” people who have been part of this great institution can aptly be summarized in the book’s title: People, Values, Excellence. Current President Gilda E. Pico and publisher Maria Rosa Carrion-Buck are to be commended for the legacy this book provides.

merci.suleik@gmail.co