The Japanese government extended to the Philippines a 20-billion-yen (about P8.71-billion) loan under the second phase of the Post-Disaster Standby Loan package to assist the government in its COVID-19 response.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said in a statement the amount would help meet the government’s huge financial requirements when it distributed emergency cash aid to families affected by the Enhanced Community Quarantine and Modified ECQ in the National Capital Region and nearby provinces on March 27 to May 14, following the surge in COVID-19 infections.
The loan, which the Philippine government received this month, represents the third tranche of the PDSL-2 loan extended by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in September last year.
The first and second tranches amounting to 10 billion yen each were released on Oct. 27, 2020 and Jan. 5, 2021, respectively.
PDSL-2 aims to quickly disburse Japanese funding support for post-disaster response efforts in the event of a national calamity or health emergency.
Under the agreement, 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.
The DOF said that in case of the COVID-19 pandemic or any public health emergency, the imposition of an ECQ or its equivalent in the NCR or any other highly-urbanized area in the country would trigger the disbursement of the loan.
Dominguez wrote JICA Philippines chief representative Eigo Azukizawa on May 11 to request for the disbursement of the amount.
The declarations of ECQ and MECQ in NCR and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, collectively known as the “NCR Plus Bubble”, served as the triggers for disbursements under PDSL-2, Dominguez said.
“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 the letter.
Azukizawa said, “JICA will continue to support our partner countries like the Philippines in building back better from the COVID-19 crisis.”
“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 on Sept. 15, 2020 the agreement for the 50-billion-yen PDSL-2. Equivalent to about P23.3 billion, the PDSL-2 will be available for quick disbursement in multiple tranches within three years, once the loan is declared effective, and may be extended for an additional three-year period for up to four times.
The PDSL 2 was extended by Japan in recognition of the Philippines’ plans and accomplishments in the following reform areas: policy and institutional framework for disaster risk reduction and management; financial resilience to natural disasters and climate change; and public health emergency preparedness.