The financing support secured by the government for its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response has totaled to $7.76 billion, data released by the Department of Finance (DOF) showed.
In its website, the DOF said as of July 1, it has raised a total of $7.63 billion in budgetary support financing from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Agence Franí§aise de Développement, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and dollar-denominated global bonds.
Of the said amount, $5.11 billion has been disbursed to the government.
In addition, a total of $126.36 million in grant and loan financing have been contracted in support of various projects to be implemented by agencies involved in COVID-19 response, according to the DOF.
Carlos Dominguez, DOF secretary, earlier said the Philippines was able to secure generous rates and longer terms from multilateral lenders and the global bond market at a time when governments across the globe have been competing for scarce financing to keep their economies afloat amid the health and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When the government can access debt at least cost, so will our private enterprises in need of assistance. The ability to refinance at lower cost will help us recover more quickly and more sustainably (from the crisis),” Dominguez previously said.
The finance chief said the government’s ability to access highly concessional borrowing rates during this emergency is why credit ratings are crucial in restoring the economy’s health.
“This is precisely the reason why we are guarding (our credit ratings) very well,” he said.
Even amid the pandemic, the DOF said the Philippines was able to maintain its financially sound status with a ‘BBB+’ rating from S&P Global and the more recent ‘A-‘ grade from the Japan Credit Rating Agency, both with stable outlooks.
