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PRESS RELEASE

June 17, 2014 Philippines Showcases Rural Enterprises to ASEAN Senior Officials Strategic partnership through enterprises between the government, NGOs, private institutions, and CSOs enables the inclusion of the poor in the economic growth. The 11th Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE) delegates from Brunei, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam will formulate policies that will directly benefit the poor in Southeast Asia. The Philippines, through the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), hosts this year’s event. The week-long engagement of representatives from ASEAN Member States includes a visit to Bohol’s rural enterprises, one of which is the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Inc. – Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD-MRI). CARD-MRI is a micro-finance and community-based social development company that provides financial access, micro-finance and educational, health, and livelihood assistance, and other services to the poor, especially to women. It has a Package Assistance for Disasters (PAID) Plan, which annually collects P250 per member in exchange for death, accident, fire, and calamity insurance. The company continuously updates its programs to fit the needs of its members who have now reached 29,000 in Bohol. A week after the earthquake that struck Bohol in October last year, CARD-MRI released up to P9,500 insurance money to their members who survived the 7.8 magnitude tremor. It also provided relief goods and assisted local government units in their rehabilitation and recovery work. “CARD-MRI’s program,” adds NAPC Under-secretary Jude Esguerra, “is a good example of how civil society effectively complements government efforts in disaster response. But what is important to note is that this program makes business sense; that is to say, it is easily replicable in other areas. The 11th Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE) formally opened its session this morning.