It all began 53 years ago when five men – Carlos L. Locsin, Msgr. Antonio Y. Fortich, Eriberto V. Garcia, Antonio G. Cumagun, and Antonio J. Montinola – who loved Negros Occidental and its people realized they needed to walk the talk and proved that concrete love help improve the lives of the least of their brethren.
That love gave birth to the Negros Economic Development Foundation Inc. (NEDF) in 1970.
A catalyst for the socio-economic development of Negros Occidental.
To promote and/or undertake specific measures that will contribute to the socio-economic development of Negros Occidental.
To have a sustainable and pro-active socio-economic development movement of empowered stakeholders.
It all began 53 years ago when five men – Carlos L. Locsin, Msgr. Antonio Y. Fortich, Eriberto V. Garcia, Antonio G. Cumagun, and Antonio J. Montinola – who loved Negros Occidental and its people realized they needed to walk the talk and proved that concrete love help improve the lives of the least of their brethren.
That love gave birth to the Negros Economic Development Foundation Inc. (NEDF) in 1970.
Such was the strength of their vision and conviction that the Victorias Milling Company (VMC), Negros Navigation Co., Inc., and Binalbagan-Isabela Sugar Company (BISCOM) heeded their call and provided the initial funding to get the NEDF up and running.
Then, in 1973, the Andres Soriano Corporation donated properties in Murcia and Bacolod City that are the major source of funds for NEDF.
Though NEDF’s approach to its mission was deliberate, the early days were not easy at all. It chose to start quietly enough, focusing on research, particularly in diversification, management seminars and conferences, studies, and surveys, and the opening of a business library. But there were times when it had to give seminars and conduct studies to raise funds for staff salaries.
It was when the need for diversification came to the fore in the mid-seventies to mid-eighties that NEDF moved from research to working in the communities.
In 1974, it undertook a joint project with the Bacolod Housing Authority at the Mansilingan Experimental Farm, conducting research and experimenting on vegetable production, mushroom culture, rabbit raising, growing jack beans, low-cost windmills, cinva ram blocks, waste recycling, solar dryer, the Lorena stove, and the beehive-type charcoal kiln.
During this period, the Foundation also acted as the secretariat for other development organizations like the Consumers Movement of Negros Occidental, the Negros Business Forum, and the Growers Association of Ipil-ipil in Negros.
But the devastating sugar industry crisis in the ‘80s forced NEDF to shift its priorities to the more urgent task of responding to the immediate needs of the communities, such as feeding programs and was among the first to call for assistance for the province.
From rehabilitation, it expanded to the broader reconstruction programs that would institutionalize change in the communities, among these: sugar workers development assistance programs which include voluntary land transfer; food production; livelihood assistance programs; post-harvest facilities; agro-forestry, and mangrove development.
A good track record and exemplary networking and linkages with local and foreign funding agencies such as USAID, Canada Fund, AusAid, made finding resources easy from the late 80s to early 90s, allowing NEDF to venture into other development programs such as socialized housing, enterprise development, disaster management, health, local governance and capability building activities.
However, as the past century came to a close, funding agencies’ priorities changed and development aid for Negros was reduced to trickles. Despite this, the NEDF has continued to develop other programs for the province’s poor.
Currently, the Foundation is implementing programs on:
Socialized Housing: providing low-cost housing units in partnership with the Province of Negros Occidental, local government units, the academe, and cooperatives with over 2,000 household beneficiaries served.
Health: “Health is wealth” and NEDF is putting focus on this as among its core programs.
Integrated Agricultural Development: NEDF maintains sustainable agriculture farms in Barangays Mansilingan and Handumanan in Bacolod City that also serve as training centers for farmers and other individuals in the province.
Networking & Linkaging: NEDF believes that strengthening the partnership for development between national government agencies, local governments, NGOs, people’s organizations, and international institutions is an important part of its work. Towards this end, the Foundation participates in activities that aim to establish linkages and open up opportunities for collaboration.
Environmental Protection and Conservation: NEDF has been at the forefront when it comes to environmental programs in the province. Among its notable project is the protection, conservation, and rehabilitation efforts for the Ilog-Hilabangan Watershed Forest Reserve which includes the strengthening of Bantay Gubat Volunteers and local watershed councils, the rehabilitation of 115 hectares, providing livelihood opportunities for upland communities, and advocacy and networking.
NEDF has also established a 3-hectare Urban Rainforest and Eco Park in Brgy. Handumanan, Bacolod City wherein around 3,000 indigenous tree species are already planted.
Entrepreneurship: NEDF has assisted more than 500 micro- and small entrepreneurs in the province through skills training and technology transfer. They, in turn, have provided employment opportunities in their communities. The NEDF Centre was established in Brgy. Handumanan as a support facility for micro-entrepreneurs in the area. These services have benefitted the urban poor, women, indigenous people, small and upland farmers, and agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Sustainability: Though local and foreign funding agencies continue to partner and provide grants for NEDF, the foundation is focusing more on programs that will make it self-sustainable in the next fifty years and beyond.
For its efforts over the past five decades, the NEDF was recognized by the Triennial Awards of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. as one of 5 Finalists for Outstanding Institutions in the Visayas and Mindanao area in 2003. On May 27, 2017, the University of Saint La Salle- Bacolod conferred the Signum Lasallianum Award to NEDF in recognition of its various developmental efforts to uplift the lives of the less fortunate Negrenses.
Five men with one mission – to love Negros and its people. And this continues to be our driving force in NEDF.
| Chairman | Mercedes A. Joson |
| Members | Wilhelmina R. Gonzales Eduardo C. Jereza Alfredo G. Barcelona Gardenia T. de Erit Maria Ester L. Espina Lourdes Rosa Y. Abelido |
| Chairman | Lourdes Rosa Y. Abelido |
| Members | Atty. Danilo L. Pedrosa Gardenia T. de Erit Mercedes A. Joson Maria Ester L. Espina Atty. Benjamin E. Ortega Rose J. Depra |
| Chairman | Gardenia T. de Erit |
| Members | Josefa A. Puentebella Lourdes Rosa Y. Abelido Ilya Cabalatungan |
| Chairman | Eduardo C. Jereza |
| Members | Arsenio G. Barcelona Rafael L. Coscolluela Mercedes A. Joson Moises Bonache Rose J. Depra |
| Chairman | Alfredo G. Barcelona |
| Members | Eduardo C. Jereza Ma. Mercedes A. Joson Atty. Danilo L. Pedrosa Atty. Benjamin E. Ortega Ar. Roberto T. Aguillon Rose J. Depra |
| Chairman | Maria Ester L. Espina |
| Members | Maria Antonieta B. Lopez Ar. Roberto T. Aguillon |
BISCOM represented by Mr. Angelo Roberto Araneta
Ponce de Leon, Ramon P.
Victorias Milling Company (VMC)
The Woodbridge Academy – Lourdes Rosa Y. Abelido
Marley 888 represented by Marlene R. Lamata
Philsearch Consulting, Inc. represented by Flordeliza P. Duhilag