PH to repay P55-billion WB loans until 2053

The Philippines will repay until 2053 two of the four loans green-lit by the Washington-based World Bank last month worth a total of $950.54 million or about P54.6 billion, that will finance health services and transport connectivity in Mindanao and other poor provinces in the country.

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World Bank documents over the weekend showed that Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, on behalf of the Philippine government, signed the loan agreement for the $454.94-mil-lion Mindanao transport connectivity improvement project on April 3.

On April 4, or a day later, Recto also signed the loan terms for the $495.6-million Philippines health system resilience project.

For the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the World Bank’s country director for the Philippines, Zafer Mustafaoglu, signed the two loan agreements much earlier, on March 13 and March 12, respectively. The IBRD is the World Bank’s lending arm for developing country-clients like the Philippines.

The World Bank board approved these two loans on March 5. They will take effect 90 days after Recto signed their loan agreements.

The Philippines will begin amortization repayments for both loans in 2036.