In a region marked by both promise and adversity, Mindanao has found unlikely champions in the bridge-builders of financial inclusion – none more pivotal than CARD Bank Inc., whose journey is now immortalized in the book “Opening Doors in Mindanao: The CARD Paglambo Story,” launched last July 23 in BGC.
From vision to moment
Founded as a microfinance-oriented rural bank, CARD Bank started with a mission to break cycles of poverty among Filipino families through accessible financial services. Mindanao, with its vast underserved areas and high proportion of unbanked communities, posed both a challenge and an opportunity. CARD Bank did more than just open branches; it opened doors – literally and figuratively.
By 2025 CARD Bank operates hundreds of offices nationwide, but its impact in Mindanao is especially profound, with a presence in cities like Davao, Kidapawan, Mati, and far-flung areas of North Cotabato and Compostela Valley. Each office stands as a testament to bank’s resolve to empower local families and communities previously left out of the formal financial system.
The Paglambo Project: Banking with heart and faith
The true signature of CARD’s Mindanao efforts lies in the Paglambo Project, a Shari’ah-inspired financing program designed specifically for Muslim communities. “Paglambo” – meaning “growth” in Visayan – represents more than credit; it symbolizes partnerships, trust, and culturally attuned support.
Initially reaching just 56 families, the Paglambo Project grew to serve over 4000 Muslim clients within a few years, expanding from Marawi and Maguindanao to Cotabato, Isabela, and Zamboanga. This tailored approach – modeled on a successful Indonesian Islamic microfinance system – broke through cultural and religious barriers, creating access for families wary of traditional banking’s incompatibility with Islamic values.
Executive Director Jocelyn Dequito credits the project’s deep community roots to a process of listening and partnership: “The program, with its intent to build meaningful relationships, captured the interest of the community, making them trust and invest time with CARD, Inc.”
Empowerment beyond loans
CARD Bank’s role as a bridge-builder extends beyond microloans and savings. Its model includes financial education, micro insurance, health protection, and entrepreneurial guidance. The “Paglambo” method aligns with local aspirations, providing not just handouts, but hand-ups – tools to build businesses, send children to school, and weather life’s storms.
Members are not passive recipients but active stakeholders; eligible clients can buy shares, sit on the board, and help steer organizational policy, ensuring that services remain rooted in actual community needs. As a result, stories of transformation abound: from women-led sari-sari stores rebuilt after conflict, to young entrepreneurs turning microloans into tech start-ups, to entire villages seeing their first locally owned bank branch.
Culminating in “Opening Doors in Mindanao”
The July 23book launch was both celebration and call to action. Penned by Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip and Pia Benitez Yupangco, “Opening Doors in Mindanao: The CARD Paglambo Story” brings together firsthand accounts, milestones, and the lived realities behind statistics. The book captures not just organizational achievements, but moments of breakthrough: the farmer able to rebuild after a storm, the mother now able to afford health insurance, the young Muslim professional who sees microfinance as a path, not a pity.
A template for sustainable impact
CARD Bank’s Mindanao journey offers a blueprint for social entrepreneurship and banking as a force for inclusive growth. By recognizing the dignity, cultural identity, and potential of the communities they serve, CARD and its Paglambo Project have redefined what it means to be a bridge-builder: not just giving access to formal finance, but building bridges of hope, resilience, and shared prosperity.
As Mindanao writes its next chapter, the doors CARD has opened remain wide, welcoming more to step through toward a future where growth truly means growth for all. | Photos by Nikki Limlengco & Mary Kyle Tecson
