Japan extends P12-B loan to PH (Sabong News)

The Japanese government has extended another loan to the Philippines for the Covid-19 recovery programs, the Department of Finance (DOF) announced on Tuesday, April 26. Tokyo and Manila signed a 30-billion yen, roughly P12.3 billion, in support of the Philippine government’s continuing efforts to rapidly recover from the pandemic and fully return its economy to the path of high, inclusive growth, the DOF said.  Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Akihiko Tanaka, the new President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), signed the agreement for the second phase of the COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan (CCRESL 2). The first phase of the CCRESL worth 50 billion yen was signed between the two countries in July last year to assist the Philippines’ efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 and provide economic relief to Filipinos hit the hardest by the pandemic. Dominguez thanked the people and government of Japan for their continuing strong support for the Philippines’ development programs and pandemic response efforts. He pointed out that Japan remains to be the Philippines’ biggest provider of official development assistance (ODA), with JICA—its foreign assistance arm—being an extremely reliable partner in helping implement the priority programs of the Duterte administration. “We have accomplished much in improving our economy’s fiscal position and growth prospects. We would not have done this without the timely assistance of the people and the government of Japan,” Dominguez said before the signing of the agreement held at the JICA headquarters. Dominguez pointed out that Shinichi Kitaoka’s support as the outgoing JICA President to the Philippines’ development agenda has translated into more than 1 trillion yen-worth of financing for, among others, President Duterte’s signature infrastructure modernization program. “JICA understands well the value of this program for our recovery and competitiveness in the new economy,” Dominguez said. He also cited Japan’s assistance to the Philippines’ pandemic response, which, apart from loans and grants, included the donation of more than 3 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines. The second phase of the CCRESL was signed in recognition of the Philippines’ accomplishments and plans in vaccinating its target population against Covid-19 and expanding the capability of its healthcare system. The CCRESL 2 package carries concessional lending terms of 0.01 percent (one-hundredth of a percent) fixed interest rate per annum with a maturity period of 15 years, inclusive of a four-year grace period–the same as with the first 50-billion yen CRESL.