The Asian Development Bank said Tuesday it approved a $250-million loan to enhance local government units’ public services in the Philippines.
The Ortigas-based multilateral lender said the $250-million policy-based loan would help LGUs deliver better and more effective public service through improved revenue generation, stronger public financial systems and regulatory frameworks and increased transparency and accountability.
The loan was approved by the ADB board of directors as the second phase of the Local Government Finance and Fiscal Decentralization Reform Program being implemented by the Interior and Local Government Department, Budget Department and the Finance Department’s Bureau of Local Government Finance.
“Service delivery, especially in the rural areas, has lagged those of the more developed areas as rural LGUs do not have sufficient revenues,” said ADB principal financial sector specialist Stephen Schuster said.
“Therefore, the government has prioritized a number of initiatives to assist LGUs, including distributing national resources more equitably, and increasing their capacity to raise own-source revenues to improve the delivery of health, education, housing, and other services to communities,” ADB said.