The World Bank has extended a $1.7-million, or over ₱98-million, grant to the Philippines to help prepare for a potential project loan that would support early childhood education in the country.

In a Sept. 20 letter to Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, the World Bank said this financing was made available through the Grant Facility for Project Preparation, which the Washington-based multilateral lender administers.

The grant would “facilitate the preparation of the proposed Supporting Early Childhood Education and Development Project, in support of which the recipient has requested the bank’s financial assistance,” the World Bank said in the letter, which it disclosed on Monday, Sept. 29.

This means that the government is set to borrow a larger amount from the World Bank in the future to fund the project to be implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd).

The full grant amount will have to be fully disbursed within four months after its closing date on Dec. 31, 2026.

On behalf of the Philippine government, Recto signed the letter agreement for the grant on Sept. 29. For the World Bank, its division director for the Philippines, Zafer Mustafaoğlu, was the signatory.

While the World Bank already provided the $1.7-million assistance, “the provision of the grant does not constitute or imply any commitment on the part of IBRD [International Bank for Reconstruction and Development] or IDA [International Development Association] to assist in financing the project.”

IBRD, the World Bank Group’s (WBG) lending arm for developing countries like the Philippines, and IDA, which lends to the world’s poorest nations, are the joint administrators of the WBG’s Grant Facility for Project Preparation.

Back in May, the DepEd submitted to the World Bank the draft environmental and social commitment plan (ESCP) for its proposed Supporting Early Childhood Education and Development in the Philippines project.

According to the signed letter agreement, the grant aims to prepare for the proposed project by ensuring implementation readiness through studies, assessments, and capacity building.

Specifically, the grant will define end-users, analyze barriers to early childhood education and development (ECED), conduct feasibility and cost-benefit studies, and assess procurement, financial, and social safeguards.

It will also support technical analyses, policy reforms, and partnerships to strengthen ECED delivery, according to the agreement.