PH to receive $366M dev’t loan from ADB, France

MANILA, Philippines – The government is set to ink a deal that will see the Philippines receiving around $366 million in development loans to be used for programs to support inclusive growth and poverty reduction.

The Department of Finance (DOF) on Wednesday, November 1, said that “the Philippines will soon ink an agreement with Agence Française de Dévelopement (AFD) of France for a 100 million euros ( $116.2 million) loan to support the Local Government Finance and Fiscal Decentralization Reform Program, Sub-program 2 (LGFFDR2)”.

The loan, the DOF added, “is being co-financed by AFD and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with the latter providing $250 million”.

LGFFDR2 is a program loan that is part of the national government’s external financing program to partially support the general budgetary requirements for the same year.

The government agency noted that the “target disbursement for the AFD-loan, if it is signed on schedule, is either in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2018”.

The program the loan is intended for aims to reduce poverty via improved service delivery by local governments units (LGUs), through the proposed revision of the 1991 local government code and the fiscal framework for inclusive growth.

It also aims to strengthen public financial management for efficient LGU service delivery and reinforce transparency and accountability.

Late last month, European Union (EU) Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen announced a possible grant of 100 million euros to be used for the rehabilitation of battle-scarred Marawi City.

The announcement was made after the administration backtracked on an earlier statement that it would reject all forms of grants from the EU. – Rappler.com