PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte met with Asian Development Bank president Takehiko Nakao on Wednesday and secured an additional $770 million worth of loans to the Philippines for the second half of 2016.
“ADB is preparing $770 million in additional loans for the rest of the year, related to youth employment, local government financial management, and road improvement in Mindanao,” the bank said in a statement.
According to the bank, it has approved loans for the Philippines amounting to $583 million for conditional cash transfers, water transmission improvement to Metro Manila and the vicinity, and water supply development in various municipalities in the first six months of 2016.
Of the proposed $770-million amount, priority will be given to supporting peace and development in Mindanao via road infrastructure rehabilitation, promotion of small- and medium-sized enterprises, and local government capacity building.
The bank also said it is collaborating with the Mindanao Development Authority, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and the Bangsamoro Development Agency, and other stakeholders.
Nakao met with Duterte to discuss how the institution can support the new administration’s efforts in promoting sustainable growth, reducing poverty, and increasing transparency in government affairs.
Nakao also commended Duterte’s early efforts to consult the private sector, civil society, and other partners to ensure a level playing field for all businesses, and uplift the lives of poor Filipinos, a fourth of the country’s population.
“I was very impressed with President Duterte’s clear messages on building confidence on public service delivery, respecting contracts and transactions already approved and awaiting implementation, removing red tape, and fighting corruption,” Nakao said.
Nakao expressed ADB’s strong commitment to supporting the government’s 10-point Economic Agenda.
ADB will work closely with the new administration to help institute a more progressive tax system and effective tax administration, increase competitiveness and the ease of doing business, accelerate infrastructure development via public-private partnerships, promote rural development and value chains, invest in human capital such as health and education and strengthen social protection including through conditional cash transfers, the ADB said in a statement.
Based on further discussions with the new administration, ADB is ready to make additional increases to assistance in the coming years. ADB will also look for opportunities to increase its nonsovereign operations (loans, equity investment, and guarantees to the private sector).
ADB provided its first loan in the Philippines in 1969 to support private enterprise development, followed by a loan to support agriculture and rural development in Mindanao.
Since then, it has provided $15.9 billion in sovereign loans, $1.6 billion in non-sovereign operations and $92 million in technical assistance. In the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, ADB provided $900 million for typhoon-affected areas.