Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
Three international institutions extended support and commendation to the Philippines over the past week.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced a $4-billion grant during President Marcos’ visit to its headquarters. The grant covers major infrastructure projects such as the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project, the Davao Public Market Modernization Project, and the Integrated Floor Resilience and Adaptation Project. Also included is financing support for the pilot testing of the national food stamp program which fortifies the social protection portfolio of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Additionally, the ADB is providing support to climate change adaptation and mitigation programs.
The ADB has increased its assistance to the Philippines four-fold between 2018 and 2022, reaching P12.7 billion. Japan, the biggest ADB equity contributor, has been the country’s number one source of official development assistance (ODA) since 2001, accounting for 72 percent of the Philippines’ total bilateral loan portfolio as of 2021.
The World Bank (WB) reaffirmed its support for the Philippines’ drive toward becoming a prosperous, inclusive and poverty-free nation by 2040 during the bank’s Managing Director for Operations Anna Bjerde’s call to President Marcos in Malacañang. She said the WB is committed to supporting the country’s development agenda including climate change, renewable energy transition, food and agriculture development, water and sanitation, digitalization and innovation. Noteworthy, too, are the WB’s Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP) and the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Step-Up.
The World Bank is the Philippines’ third largest ODA partner, with active loans and grants amounting to $6.8 billion.
The third commendation came from credit rating agency Fitch Ratings which affirmed the Philippines ‘BBB’ credit rating and upgraded its outlook from “negative” to “stable.” This represents a significant change from the downgrade it made in July 2021 on account of “downside risks to medium-term growth prospects as a result of potential scarring effects” of the pandemic-induced recession. The revision of the outlook to ‘stable’ reflects Fitch’s improved confidence in the Philippines’ return to strong medium-term growth. Recent developments indicate that the country could attain a six percent economic growth, which is higher than the median “BBB” growth rate of three percent.
Buttressing these commendations, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko said the Group of Seven (G7) leaders of the world’s largest industrialized countries expressed their support for a free and open Indo-Pacific region and for the observance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the governing framework for resolving disputes. This affirms the Marcos’ administration’s foreign policy which the President has actively espoused in his interface with world leaders. India and Australia, together with the US and Japan, are also part of the Quad alliance which, according to Japan’s Ambassador, has similarly declared support for the Philippines’ foreign policy posture.
In sum, positive affirmation from the world’s leading multilateral financial institutions and recognized credit rating agency, bodes well for the country’s continuing march toward attaining an upper middle-income country within the next few years, and ultimately a prosperous middle-class country by 2040.
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
