The World Bank on Tuesday committed to back the Marcos administration’s bid to turn the Philippines into a “prosperous, inclusive and poverty-free society by 2040” by sustaining its support for programs that address climate change, renewable energy transition, food and agriculture, water and sanitation, innovation, and digitalization, among others.
Anna Bjerde, World Bank managing director for operations, during her call on President Marcos Jr. in Malacanang, conveyed the institution’s commitments to align its priorities with the Philippines’ development agenda under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
“The World Bank is committed to supporting the Philippines achieve long-term inclusive and sustainable growth, attain upper middle-income country status, and eventually become a predominantly middle-class society by 2040,” Bjerde said in a news release issued by the Presidential Communications Office.
She acknowledged that the Philippines could further boost its investments and long-term growth given its young and skilled labor force and sound macroeconomic policies.
Bjerde added that the post-pandemic recovery in the Philippines is underway as the country’s economy has started to grow rapidly and substantially with the drop of COVID-19 cases and the progress in the implementation of its ongoing projects.
She said among the notable programs is the Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project which seeks to improve the quality of education and access to teaching in Kindergarten to Grade 6 in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula and Soccsksargen regions.
Another program is the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale-Up which seeks to build on previous PRDP to further improve farmers and fisherfolks’ access to markets and increase income from selected agriculture and fisheries value chains.
The WB-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the Philippines’ third largest official development assistance (ODA) partner, with active loans and grants amounting to around $6.8 billion which is 21.2 percent of the country’s total ODA.
Prior to Marcos’ meeting with World Bank officials, the President met with the representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which is set to grant the Philippines up to $4 billion to support the country’s socio-economic agenda and other infrastructure development programs of the government for 2023.
ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa, during his meeting with Marcos, said the $4 billion will be used to support the Philippines’ Socio-Economic Agenda and the Build Better More infrastructure development program, which includes the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project, Davao Public Transport Modernization Project, and the Integrated Floor Resilience and Adaptation Project.
The ADB is the Philippines’ top source of active ODA, accounting for 34 percent or some $10.74 billion worth of loans and grants.
