Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said local government units can avail of concessional financing of up to 100 percent of project cost to enable them to implement their infrastructure and other development projects through three state-backed credit facilities.
Dominguez provided the League of Provinces of the Philippines, through its national chairman, Quirino Governor Dakila Carlo Cua, copies of the policy guidelines and documentary requirements of the loan facilities offered by the Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines and the Municipal Development Fund Office for LGUs.
“The DOF stands ready to assist our LGUs in efficiently and effectively implementing their priority development projects that are crucial to the fulfillment of President Rodrigo Duterte’s primary goal of providing a safe, decent, and comfortable life for every law-abiding Filipino,” Dominguez said in a letter to Cua that described the features of these credit facilities available to LGUs.
Dominguez, who is LandBank chairman, said LGUs could tap the LandBank’s Omnibus Term Loan Facility, which allows qualified LGUs to fund infrastructure and socio-economic projects that are listed in their approved Local Development Plan and Public Investment Program.
The OTLF eliminates the inconvenience and associated transaction cost in securing loan approval for every single project to be implemented, Dominguez said.
The LandBank applies a prescribed formula in computing the net debt service ceiling and borrowing capacity of the LGUs. Julito G. Rada
Among the LGUs that have availed of the OTLF is the Manila city government, which signed a P10-billion loan agreement with the LandBank last year to finance the renovation and upgrade of its health, education and tourism infrastructure.