THE Department of Finance (DOF) said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given the Philippines its full support in efforts to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Aside from the initial delivery of a $3-million grant for the state purchase of medical supplies for health workers, the ADB has also approved an emergency grant of $5 million for the Philippines to leverage private-sector donations for a food distribution program that will be implemented as early as next week to benefit Luzon’s poorest households, the DOF said in a statement yesterday.
The food distribution program is being implemented in coordination with the DOF, the Departments of Social Welfare and Development and of the Interior and Local Government, as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Carlos Dominguez, DOF secretary, said this program will “dovetail very quickly with the Philippine government’s own efforts to supply cash funds” to the poorest families most affected by the stringent measures put in place to defeat COVID-19.
“ADB is fully committed to supporting the Philippines’ efforts to overcome these unprecedented, extraordinary, and challenging times. We will be ready with a large assistance package within weeks to help the government carry out a response with maximum impact,” Masatsugu Asakawa, ADB president, said in the multilateral agency’s statement last Friday.
“We have already approved a $3 million grant to procure medical supplies. A new innovative facility will be launched within days to deliver food to the poor, with participation by the government and the private sector,” he added.
A $100-million emergency project loan to quickly set up additional healthcare facilities and procure much-needed equipment such as medical ventilators and protective gear for the Philippines’ frontline health workers is also being worked out by the ADB with the DOF and Department of Health (DOH) to speed up its implementation.
The DOF said the ADB also committed to accelerate the approval of a $1-billion quick budget support loan through the proposed new COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option under the Counter Cyclical Support Facility.
Another $150 million financing from the ADB under the ongoing Social Protection Support Project will also provide additional support for the Philippines’ Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps), Asakawa said.
In his conversation with Dominguez, Asakawa commended the Philippine government for its “proactive and preemptive response in containing the community transmission of COVID-19.”
“You have put in place strong social distancing measures that have proven to work elsewhere. Many other of our developing member-countries and advanced nations are now taking similar measures to the Philippines, as the virus takes hold in their communities,” Asakawa said.
Dominguez thanked Asakawa for ADB’s swift response to the Philippines’ call for assistance in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, as he called on the bank to provide the country additional support under its Countercyclical Support Facility-Pandemic Response Option, and a technical assistance to help the government map out a comprehensive plan to bounce back from the economic impact of the global health crisis.
Dominguez said the Philippines will need technical assistance from the ADB in helping the government plan for a recovery or “bounce back” program that would primarily benefit the country’s workforce.
“What good will be a stimulus if there are no workers. We must think of the workers first. So, we need measures in order for the Philippines to bounce back for the inevitable turnaround. And we would like to ask technical assistance from ADB for that,” Dominguez said.
Asakawa further said the ADB will accelerate, too, the approval of its $500-million project loan for the Expanded Social Assistance Project to support the 4Ps program.
The ADB is also working on a $500-million Contingent Disaster Facility to expand its coverage to health emergencies.
Likewise, Dominguez said in a recent Viber chat with reporters the government is evaluating the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) plan to scale up infrastructure investment, including in public health, healthcare and information and communications technology, to better serve members impacted by COVID-19.
AIIB said it will announce a number of public health infrastructure financing options for its members in the coming days and weeks, to help build up economic resilience and mitigate the impact of future health crises.
“Together w/the DOH, (we’ll) evaluate AIIB’s offer, as future-proofing our health care system is definitely a key element in our program,” Dominguez told reporters on Friday.
Meanwhile, the government’s borrowing mix may see a change from program this year as multilaterals are tapped for funding in the country’s COVID-19 response.
The government has a borrowing program of P1.4 trillion for 2020, with a mix of 75:25, in favor of domestic financing.
Rosalia de Leon, national treasurer, was asked by reporters via Viber last Friday about the borrowing mix for the year, should the additional loans for COVID-19 response from multilateral institutions be secured.
“(It will be) lower than 75 (percent share for domestic),” de Leon said.
Prompted further for the projected borrowing mix, de Leon said: “(Let’s) wait for the DBCC (Development Budget Coordination Committee).”
“We finalized MOA (memorandum of agreement) with BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) on repo today (Friday) and provided GS (government securities). Will confirm on Monday credit of P300 billion to our account,” de Leon also said.
The Monetary Board earlier authorized the BSP to purchase government securities from the Bureau of the Treasury under a repurchase agreement in the amount of P300 billion with a maximum repayment period of six months.
The fund generated from the said agreement shall be used to support the national government’s programs to counter the impact of COVID-19.
