The World Bank has appropriated money for the Philippines intended to boost its ability to respond to disaster and provide relief in the wake of nature-induced calamities, the Philippines' central bank said Monday.
The money comes in the form of a loan already approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of Philippines) totaling 500 million U.S. dollars.
"This is a World Bank instrument or facility that provides immediate liquidity in the event of national calamity complement( ing) the government's national and local calamity funds to cover expected and post-disaster expenses," central bank governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.
Tetangco lauded the World Bank for supporting the risk reduction efforts of the Philippine government.
"Since the loan is intended to finance post disaster reconstruction efforts, disbursement amount and release date would be contingent on the extent of the catastrophe as well as the related damage," said Tetangco.
Also, a presidential declaration of a state of calamity on affected areas is needed to trigger the release of the loan.
This facility was structured as a 25-year loan with a five-year grace period and may be implemented with a fixed or variable rate of interest. There is an up-front fee of 0.5 percent of the loan amount.
Editor: Lu Hui
English.news.cn 2011-06-20 19:21:51 FeedbackPrintRSS
MANILA, June 20 (Xinhua)
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