Philippines to tap World Bank $500-million typhoon relief fund
By Derco Rosal
Newly appointed Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go met with World Bank (WB) New Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific Carlos Felipe Jaramillo on his first day in office.
Following the destructive typhoons that hit the Philippines, the national government is gearing up to tap half a billion dollars in climate funding from the Washington-based World Bank.
According to the Department of Finance’s (DOF) Facebook post on Thursday, Nov. 20, the national government is “preparing to withdraw $500 million,” or about ₱29.5 billion under the multilateral lender’s financing support through the Disaster Risk Management and Climate Development Policy Loan with a Catastrophe-Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat-DDO).
Financing packages with Cat-DDO keep funds available and can only be utilized after a disaster occurs.
As per the DOF, funds will be used to “support financing requirements for the immediate response and recovery following recent typhoons that hit the country.”
This financing was discussed when the newly appointed Finance Secretary, Frederick D. Go, met with Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, the new regional vice president for the World Bank's Asia and the Pacific (APAC) region.
Go and Jaramillo discussed government priorities and continued partnership with the bank through financing, technical assistance, and disaster-risk solutions.”
Jaramillo committed to helping the Philippines enhance employment conditions and strengthen the country’s disaster response.
International Finance Group (IFG) Undersecretary Joven Z. Balbosa and Assistant Secretary Donalyn U. Minimo joined the meeting.
World Bank Division Director Zafer Mustafaoglu, Operations Manager Dandan Chen, Operations Officer Rommel Herrera, and Lead Economist Gonzalo Varela were also present.