TACLOBAN CITY – Former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor, who is now the chairman of the board and executive officer of the United Coconut Planters Bank Foundation Inc., is set to meet beneficiaries of the agency’s Buklod Unlad (Buko) Program in the region.

Zosimo Monteros, area head for the Visayas of the UCPBFI, said that the former agriculture secretary is also set to preside the board meeting of the said company to be held at the MacArthur Park Resort.

“He is expected to update the beneficiaries of the program on the status of the coco levy fund as well as on the various programs of the agency which are all aimed i0n helping them rise from poverty,” Monteros told Leyte Samar Daily Express.

On Friday, Montemayor is set to meet 6, 000 Buko Program members coming from Southern Leyte. The meeting is to be held in Sogod town.

Montemayor will also meet the program’s beneficiaries in Leyte on Saturday, Monteros said.

According to him, there are around 600 beneficiaries of Leyte coming from the municipalities of Palo, Alangalang, Pastrana, Sta. Fe and Dagami, among others.

The Buko program of the UCPB aims to give financial loans to the wives and daughters of coconut farmers.

“The program basically aims to help our intended beneficiaries improve their living condition,” Monteros explained to Express.

In the region, the program was launched three years ago in Southern Leyte and was introduced in Leyte earlier this year. Last year, the same program was launched in Samar with more than 6, 000 identified beneficiaries.

Eastern Visayas ranked number three among the country’s coconut-producing regions, with an annual export income of $23 million.