The Philippines obtained last year US$30.7 billion in official development assistance of which 59 were loans and grants signed in 2020, 20 program loans, 14 project loans and 25 grants. Japan still led the ODA providers followed by Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.
Because of “our strong fiscal position, we were able to procure a total of 195 million vaccine doses from both the government and private sector, provide emergency cash transfers for those affected by the quarantines, and strengthen our overall response to address the pandemic,” government officials recently announced.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the Philippines obtained US$30.7 billion worth of official development assistance in 2020, up by 46.6 percent from 2019’s US$20.9 billion.
NEDA recently released the ODA Portfolio Review Report for CY2020, which consisted of 30 program loans, 76 project loans and 251 grants.
Among these, 59 loans and grants were signed in 2020, consisting of 20 program loans (US$ 8.2 billion), 14 project loans (US$ 2.9 billion), and 25 grants (US$140 million).
Governance sector got lion’s share
The governance and institutions development sector recorded the highest share in last year’s ODA portfolio, amounting to US$5 billion (45 percent), followed by the social reform and community development sector (31 percent) and the infrastructure development sector (which usually got the biggest share) landing on third with 16 percent.
The report stated that ODA was requested to augment the government’s COVID-19 response, such as the procurement and delivery of vaccines, support for the emergency cash assistance program, provision of medical supplies and equipment, construction of isolation and quarantine facilities, and strengthening the capacity of existing health facilities.
Japan still leads
As of 2020, Japan remained as the country’s overall top provider of ODA with US$11.2 billion (36.4 percent) worth of loans and grants, followed by the Asian Development Bank with US$ 8.8 billion (28.5 percent), and the World Bank with US$6.4 billion (21 percent).
NEDA conducts the ODA portfolio review annually, pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 8182 or the ODA Act of 1996, as amended by RA 8555.
Tags: #officialdevelopmentassistance, #internationalaid, #governmentspending, #NationalEconomicandDevelopmentAuthority