The Philippines has obtained a loan worth €100 million or $115 million from Agence Française de Développement (AFD) of France to support Sub-program 2 of the Local Government Finance and Fiscal Decentralization Reform Program (LGFFDR2), according to the Department of Finance.
At the executive committee (Execom) meeting, the International Finance Group (IFG) told Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III the loan was in recognition of achievements made in the name of inclusive growth and poverty reduction by the government.
The DOF said the measures to reduce poverty include creating a conducive fiscal framework for inclusive growth; developing an adequate and equitable resource framework for fiscal sustainability; strengthening public financial management to assist efficient local government unit service delivery; and fostering good local governance, transparency and accountability.
According to the IFG, the target disbursement for the loan is either the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2018.
The LGFFDR2 is a program loan forming part of the government’s external financing program to partially support the budget this year.
The loan is cofinanced by AFD and the Asian Development Bank, with the latter providing $250 million.
As such, all activities, policy actions and indicators necessary to facilitate the disbursement of the LGFFDR2 had already been successfully achieved, the DOF said.
According to the IFG report, the LGFFDR2 aims to achieve inclusive growth and reduce poverty via improved service delivery by local governments units (LGUs), through proposed revision of the 1991 Local Government Code and the creation of a conducive fiscal framework for inclusive growth, the development of an adequate and equitable resource framework; strengthening of public financial management for efficient LGU service delivery; and reinforcement of good local governance, transparency and accountability.
In October the Philippines and France signed an agreement on agriculture establishing the Joint Agricultural Steering Committee.
The committee aims to facilitate interactions between the two countries and enhance bilateral cooperation in areas including the promotion of the diversity of agricultural products and of sustainable agricultural practices, among others.