Section 24December 22, 1997, Sec./Art. 24

Review of the mandates of Land Bank of the Philippines Crop Insurance Corporation, Guarantee Fund For Small and Medium Enterprises, Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corporation, Agricultural Credit Policy Council. - The Department of Finance shall commission and independent review of the charters and the respective programs of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises (GFSME), Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corporation (Quendancor), and Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), and recommend policy changes and other measures to induce the private sectors participation in lending to agriculture and to improve credit access by farmers and fisherfolk: Provided, That agriculture and fisheries projects with long gestation period shall be entitled to a longer grace period in repaying the loan based on the economic life of the project.

The Land Bank of the Philippines, shall, in accordance with its original mandate, focus primarily on plans and programs in relation to the financing of agrarian reform and the delivery of credit services to the agriculture and fisheries sectors, especially to small farmers and fisherfolk.

The review shall start six (6) months after the enactment of this Act. Thereafter, the review shall make recommendations to the appropriate Congressional Committees for possible legislative actions and to the Executive Branch for policy and program changes within six (6) months after submission.