Financing worth up to $2.44 billion is expected to be approved by the World Bank this month to support several Philippine government programs aimed at strengthening economic growth, agriculture, education, and public health preparedness.
The Washington-based multilateral lender is scheduled to approve $800 million on March 12 for the Philippines Growth and Jobs Development Policy Loan (DPL) 1.
The financing is intended to support government initiatives to strengthen fiscal management, encourage private sector investment and innovation, and enhance workforce capabilities.
Key objectives include increasing tax revenues relative to gross domestic product, expanding the number of local government units with updated property valuations, generating fiscal savings, and improving the business environment by increasing share trading activity and reducing firm registration processing time.
The program also aims to strengthen human capital by promoting enterprise-based education and training and improving literacy outcomes among students. Part of the initiative includes expanding certification opportunities for child development workers without formal education, particularly newly certified women.
Implementation will involve several government agencies, including the Department of Finance, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Anti-Red Tape Authority, among others.
The World Bank’s board is also scheduled to review an $18.85-million grant on March 26 for the Pandemic Fund–Resilient Philippines Project.
This project will be implemented by the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, and the Bureau of Animal Industry to strengthen the country’s ability to detect and respond to emerging diseases affecting humans, animals, and wildlife. The grant will be sourced from the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Trust Fund established in 2022.
Two additional loans are expected to be approved on March 27. These include the $1-billion Philippines Sustainable Agriculture Transformation (PSAT) Program and the $600-million Project for Learning Upgrade Support and Decentralization (PLUSD).
The agriculture program will support large-scale initiatives aimed at improving productivity and infrastructure in the farming sector and will be implemented by the Department of Agriculture. The loan represents the first Philippine project to be financed under the World Bank’s program-for-results framework.
The PLUSD project, which will be implemented by the Department of Education, aims to improve foundational literacy and numeracy among primary school students and strengthen learning outcomes in reading and mathematics for lower secondary students nationwide.
Alongside the PSAT program, the World Bank is also expected to approve a $24.5-million Technical Assistance for Sustainable Agriculture Transformation in the Philippines (TASAT) grant. The project will help improve fertilizer subsidy efficiency, promote crop diversification, and strengthen institutional capacity in agriculture programs.
The Philippines is expected to borrow a total of $7.85 billion from the World Bank between mid-2025 and mid-2027 under the institution’s six-year Country Partnership Framework, which supports the country’s goal of achieving upper-middle-income status.
Over a longer horizon, the World Bank Group has programmed up to $23 billion in financing support for the Philippines from fiscal years 2026 to 2031.
