PHL to receive further $1.6-B from ADB

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) said another funding package of at least $1.6 billion for the Philippines will be released in the coming weeks to help the government respond to the COVID-19 quarantine and to help affected industries.

In a statement Friday, the bank said the new funding package will consist of at least “three quick-disbursing, policy-based loans” worth $1.1 billion and another $500 million for disaster resilience financing.

“We will be ready with a large assistance package within weeks to help the government carry out a response with maximum impact,” ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa was quoted as saying in the statement.

The package will also include a “large, quick-disbursing loan” that can be used immediately upon approval, funding for cash transfers and procurement of additional emergency facilities and other equipment such as ventilators for the health department, it said.

“A new innovative facility will be launched within days to deliver food to the poor, with participation by the government and the private sector,” Mr. Asakawa said.

According to ADB, the additional funding will be drawn from the bank’s $6.5 billion initial package launched for its member-countries.

Earlier, the bank approved a $3 million grant for the Philippines to procure medical supplies. The ADB said the grant will fund a “new, modern laboratory with diagnostic equipment, testing kits, and supplies” for Jose Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga. The laboratory can process 1,000 COVID-19 tests per day once established, it said.

“ADB is fully committed to supporting the Philippines’ efforts to overcome these unprecedented, extraordinary, and challenging times,” he added.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the government plans to seek $1-2 billion worth of funding assistance from multilateral agencies to support the government’s increased spending to deal with the pandemic.

The World Bank has committed to provide a $100-million loan to the Philippines.

The government rolled out an initial P27.1-billion economic stimulus package to help distressed sectors while a recently-signed stimulus package law allows the government to realign as much as P275 billion from the national budget and make off-budget outlays for COVID-19 relief measures.