MANILA, Philippines —The loans and grants secured by the Department of Finance (DOF) to bankroll the war chest against COVID-19 stood at $14.29 billion (about P696 billion) as of mid-March.
The latest figures released by the DOF on March 17 were “rebased to reflect 2020 average exchange rates,” it said.
The updated list of loans and grants from multilateral banks as well as bilateral development partners did not yet include the $500-million loan from the Washington-based World Bank and the $400-million financing approved by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) last week for the Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccination program.
These $900 million in loans will only take e…
Keep on reading: PH secures $14.29B in loans, grants to fight COVID-19 in 2020