PH, World Bank seal $300-M loan for 4Ps

Credit to Author: Mayvelin U. Caraballo, TMT| Date: Thu, 28 Nov 2019 16:58:17 +0000

THE Philippines and the World Bank have signed an agreement for a $300-million loan that would be used as additional funds for the government’s conditional cash transfer program.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd (left) and World Bank Country Director Mara Warwick during the signing of the $300-million loan agreement for the Second Second Social Welfare Development And Reform Program at the Department of Finance in Manila on Thursday. PHOTO FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

In a ceremony at the Department of Finance in Manila on Thursday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd and World Bank Country Director Mara Warwick inked on behalf of Manila and the Washington-based multilateral lender the loan deal for the “Second Social Welfare Development and Reform Program – Additional Financing.”

According to the World Bank, the new funding for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) would finance cash transfers to poor households for two years to help them invest in children’s human capital.

It would also provide technical assistance to the government to help strengthen the implementation and impact of the program, including more efficient payment systems, monitoring and evaluation, and family development sessions.

Dominguez said the loan would also help boost early childhood development and fight malnutrition among 8.7 million children from some 4.2 million families currently benefiting from the 4Ps.

The World Bank has contributed $1.26 billion to the program since 2010, he added.

“I thank the World Bank for facilitating additional financing for the Second Social Welfare Development and Reform Program. The bank has been a strong and reliable partner in the implementation of our conditional cash transfer initiative….” the Finance chief said.

For her part, Warwick said the 4Ps had been critical in reducing poverty and promoting human capital accumulation of children from poor Filipino families.

“By making cash transfers conditional upon health checks of pregnant women and young children, school attendance among school-aged children, and participation in family development sessions, the program has significantly improved health and educational outcomes of poor and vulnerable families. We are proud to support programs such as this that help millions of families overcome poverty,” she said.

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