DepEd project stalls; WB loan restructured

The Philippines has sought to restructure disbursement estimates and project targets for a World Bank loan aimed at enhancing teachers' competencies, as its implementation stalled due to late budget releases and procurement issues.

- BY BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

In a Sept. 28 restructuring paper, the World Bank said that since the $110-million, or over ₱6.3-billion, investment project financing (IPF) for the Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP) was approved in June 2023, only $7.99 million, or 7.26 percent of the loan, has been disbursed so far.

This project loan, being implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd) in regions 9, 12, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), will close on June 30, 2028, the last day of the Marcos Jr. administration.

Aimed at improving the quality and equity of instruction in kindergarten to grade 6 (K-6) in the three selected regions, the project was delayed by the lack of budget cover and its inclusion in unprogrammed appropriations (UAs) in previous years' national budgets, the World Bank said in earlier implementation reports last May and in October last year, as reported by Manila Bulletin.