ADB offers additional $1.75 billion support package to Philippines

On Friday, 15 May, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda offered an additional $1.75 billion in assistance to the Philippines on top of around $2 billion in existing policy-based loans during a meeting with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Malacañang.

According to a statement released by the ADB, the additional funding will be provided through policy-based, countercyclical lending and trade finance mechanisms aimed at assisting vulnerable Filipino families.

The ADB said the assistance is intended to help the national government mitigate the impact of the oil crisis and other economic shocks affecting the country.

The multilateral lender added that the additional support seeks to address the economic effects of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East while the Philippines remains under a state of national emergency.

“The Philippines is ADB’s home, and we see the strain this crisis is placing on Filipino families, workers, and businesses,” Kanda said.

He emphasized that the ADB would move swiftly to help the government strengthen the country’s economic resilience.

In its statement, the ADB highlighted the Philippines’ heavy dependence on imported oil, fertilizers, and other global commodities.

The bank also said it is closely coordinating with agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Earlier on Friday, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines announced that the Luzon and Visayas grids would again be placed under yellow and red alert status from the afternoon until evening due to forced outages of several power plants.