THE Duterte administration is far from done with securing loans from foreign sources for its COVID-19 response, the Department of Finance said.
In a virtual press conference Wednesday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the country is negotiating more borrowings with the country’s bilateral and multilateral partners.
“We will not disclose the names and the terms until they are completed,” he added.
The Finance chief was asked if there are other bilateral or multilateral loans being negotiated for financing support for the government’s COVID-19 response and economic relief efforts.
The Philippine government is aiming to raise around P436 billion or roughly $8.72 billion in loans from foreign sources for COVID-19 response and economic recovery efforts.
So far, the government has raised a total of $7.761 billion in loans and grants from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and Agence Francaise de Developpement as well as the issuance of global bonds.
Data available from the Department of Finance’s website showed $5.11 billion of the funding raised has already been disbursed to the government, meaning it is now part in the Treasury.
From January to April, the national government’s borrowing reached P1.22 trillion in the first four months of 2020 as the Duterte administration ramped its reliance on lending to fund its COVID-19 response and economic relief initiatives.
Citing a report from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the DOF said the lion’s share or P982 billion (81 percent) of the total borrowings for the period were sourced domestically.
These were raised through treasury bills and bonds and through a P300-billion short-term loan from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The balance, amounting to around P237 billion or 19 percent of the total, was sourced externally through a mix of concessional foreign loans and bond issuances.(GMA News)
