The World Bank approved on Friday its $500 million (Php25 billion) loan for the Philippines to boost the country’s capacity to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
This came after Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III announced earlier this week that the Philippines is eyeing to tap international lenders to borrow $5.6 billion for COVID-19 response.
The Third Risk Management Development Policy Loan said the loan grant was part of the World Bank’s long-standing support to the Philippines’ broader policy reform efforts to boost its resilience and capability to prepare for and recover from disasters.
This loan follows two previous Risk Management Development Policy Loans in 2012 and 2015.
“The World Bank is committed to supporting efforts to strengthen the Philippines’ capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters as well as health and economic shocks like COVID-19,” Achim Fock, World Bank Acting Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand said in a statement.
“Natural disasters and pandemics disproportionately hurt poor families and communities. Enhancing risk management and the capacity to address these challenges can help ensure that the Philippines can sustain progress in poverty reduction.”
The Third Risk Management Development Policy Loan will support key policy reforms being undertaken by the government in the area of disaster risk management, including:
· Adoption and implementation of a unified disaster rehabilitation and recovery planning framework by the national government and local government units;
· Promotion of integrated hazard and risk analysis in physical planning, and in support of policy development;
· Development of multi-year investment plans for seismic risk reduction and retrofitting of important government buildings; and
· Implementation of an emergency cash transfer program during shocks.
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