PH Welcomes 20-B Yen Loan Package from Japan for COVID-19 Response

The Philippines welcomes yet another approved loan as Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has thanked the Japanese government for the approval of a 20 billion yen (about PHP8.71 billion) loan for COVID-19 response in the country.

The loan, under the second phase of the Post-Disaster Standby Loan (PDSL-2) package extended to the Philippines, will mainly be used for response efforts against the pandemic, specifically in providing emergency assistance to vulnerable sectors.

The finance chief also said the loan will aid in meeting the Philippine government’s massive financial requirements as the government distributed emergency cash aid to families that were affected following the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ (MECQ) that was imposed in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus bubble, which includes adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal as COVID-19 cases saw a surge in the said area.

The 20-billion yen disbursement is the the third tranche of the PDSL-2 loan extended by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to the Philippines last September, with the first and second tranches of the loan amounting to 10 billion yen each were released last October 27, 2020 and January 5, 2021.

PDSL-2 aims to quickly disburse Japanese funding support for post-disaster response efforts in the event of a national calamity or health emergency.

The imposition of ECQ in the National Capital Region (NCR) or in any other highly urbanized area in the country triggered the disbursement of the loan as under the agreement between the two nations, the disbursement of the standby loan to the Philippines will be made available through the declaration of a state of calamity; or declaration of a state of public health emergency, in which the ECQ falls under.

Dominguez wrote JICA Philippines Chief Representative Eigo Azukizawa last May 11 following the ECQ mandate to request for the disbursement of the 20-billion yen fund.

“We hope to utilize the amount to be disbursed under PDSL-2 to support a portion of the total requirement for the implementation of the SAP (social amelioration program) and other mechanisms necessary to properly implement Covid-19 response and recovery interventions in the country,” Dominguez said in his letter.

Azukizawa hopes that the disbursement will be able to aid in the country’s social amelioration program.

“The disbursement hopefully will support the social amelioration program for vulnerable people and sectors, and thereby cushioning the economic impact of the pandemic in the Philippines particularly job losses and support economic recovery efforts,” he said.

The Philippines and Japan signed the agreement for the 50-billion yen PDSL-2 September 15 last year. (GFB)