The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million policy-based loan to provide the Philippines with immediate access to financing in the event of disasters triggered by natural hazards or health-related emergencies.
In a statement, the Manila-based lender said the funding will support reforms to bolster the country's resilience and enable swift response and recovery efforts, thereby minimizing the impact of disasters on the economy and the lives and livelihoods of Filipinos.
“The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia but is at high risk for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, rising sea levels, and flooding,” said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran.
“With this program, we aim to help boost the country’s capacity for disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) nationally and locally, including state-owned and controlled corporations; strengthen DRRM policies and frameworks; and attain long-term resilience to lessen the impact of disasters, especially to the most vulnerable sectors," he added.
The Philippines ranked highest in disaster risk out of 193 economies in 2024, according to the World Risk Report 2024. The new program seeks to harmonize DRRM planning processes at the national, provincial, and city levels and integrate DRRM in national public financial management reforms.
It also seeks to incorporate gender equity, disability, and social inclusion in DRRM plans; enhance the service delivery of state-owned or controlled corporations for disaster response; and provide additional sources of risk financing, including a voluntary city parametric disaster insurance scheme that offers faster payouts for damages from earthquakes, typhoons, and other disasters.
The program builds on the reforms achieved under the first Disaster Resilience Improvement Program and leverages past ADB assistance on climate and disaster resilience. It also complements ADB’s Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation Project (Phase 1), which is helping prepare and implement DRRM plans to reduce selected LGUs’ disaster vulnerabilities.
Finally, it builds on the Climate Change Action Plan Subprograms 1 and 2, which support the implementation of national climate policies and the scale-up of climate adaptation and mitigation efforts at the national and local levels.