The Japanese government has extended a 20-billion yen (approximately P8.8 b) budget in support of the Philippine response efforts against COVID-19.
In a statement, the Japanese Embassy in Manila said the latest turnover of the disbursement by the Japan International Cooperation Agency came a month after Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide authorized the release of another tranche of the Post-Disaster Standby Loan Phase during a teleconference summit with President Duterte on May 19, 2021
The embassy statement said that this third disbursement under the PDSL 2 is aimed at augmenting the Philippine government’s COVID-19 resources, especially now that the Philippines continues to show signs of recovery following the lifting of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the NCR Plus.
Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko expressed hope that the latest tranche of loan would help the Philippines to continue the progress it has been showing in its fight against the virus pandemic.
Signed on September 15, 2020, the PDSL 2 is a contingency fund that entitles the Philippine government to withdraw up to 50 billion yen (approximately P22 billion) worth of loans to help finance its response measures in the aftermath of natural and health-related disasters.
To date, Japan has infused a total of JPY 40 billion (about P17.5 billion) into the Philippines, with the first tranche amounting to10 billion yen disbursed in October 2020 to boost the country’s pandemic response and the second tranche also worth JPY 10 billion released in January 2021 to facilitate a faster recovery from Typhoons Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses.
The embassy statement stressed that the PDSL 2 forms part of Japan’s comprehensive assistance to the Philippines during the pandemic.
Japan also provided the Philippines a 50-billion yen financing under the COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan (CRESL) in July last year.
Apart from the two loan packages, Japan expressed its solidarity with the Philippines through a 2-billion yen grant for the procurement of medical equipment and establishment of laboratory surveillance sites, as well as the recently announced JPY 1 billion worth of grant assistance for cold chain development in the Philippines.
President Duterte last month thanked Suga for Japan’s cooperation programs, including the assistance for COVID-19 control measures.