SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government and the World Bank signed a $600-million (around P33.4 billion) loan agreement to support the country’s agriculture infrastructure.
The Department of Finance on Monday, July 10, said the loan will support the Philippine Rural Development Project Scale-Up, an initiative of the Department of Agriculture.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. concurrently sits as agriculture secretary.
The initiative aims to boost farmer and fisherfolk access to markets, increase income from selected agri-fishery value chains, and improve efficiency in the food supply chain.
It will cover 16 regions and will fund rural infrastructure and enterprise programs, which are estimated to benefit 450,000 farmers and fisherfolk as well as generate some 42,000 jobs.
The total project cost is $818 million, with the remaining $218 million funded by the national government.
As of July 2023, the World Bank’s official development assistance to the Philippines has reached $7.9 billion or about P440 billion. – Rappler.com
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Another source of political “kickbacks”? At 10%, this would amount to P 3.34 Billion, a whooping addition to funds for election and dis-information campaigns and electoral digitalization manipulations. So, no wonder why it is very hard to let go of the DA Secretary position?