 |
 |
|
|
       |
Loan availments seen at $1.5-B next year |
|
(December 12, 2003 - Friday, Manila Bulletin)
Loan availments from official creditors for next year could reach between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, more than triple the $400 million level inputted the programmed official financing requirement to finance, in part, the R197.8 billion deficit. |
|
Acting Finance Secretary Juanita D. Amatong explained the $400 million official financing requirement for 2004 is “very conservative” as the government is currently working on several program and project loans with both bilateral and multilateral creditors.
“The $400 million is very conservative. It could be understated. We may be able to get between $1 billion and $1.5 billion in both program and project loans,” Amatong said. She explained there several program loans are in various stages of negotiations with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, part of which can be disbursed as early as the first of next year. These program loans, which are non-specific as opposed to project loans wherein it financed a particular infrastructure project, have not been included in next year’s $400 million official financing requirements. The government was just trying to be conservative in its outlook with the non-inclusion of these program loans in the 2004’s external financing requirement because disbursements of some of these loans hinge on certain conditionalities. The conservatism was anchored on the earlier experience of the authorities wherein they booked substantial portion of the offshore financing in the form of program loans but not all of the amount come-in because of certain stiff conditionalities tied to their disbursement. However, Amatong said some of the facilities from the multilateral institutions are quick-disbursing. This means the government can readily avail of the financial package. At present, Amatong said the Philippines is negotiating on a $200 million financial assistance from the World Bank to support the government’s program civil service reforms. Specifically, Amatong said the money will fund the separation pay of civil servants, who will opt for retire based on the government’s streamlining program being handled by the Department of Budget and Management. “We are working on a new program loan worth $200 million with the World Bank for reforms in civil service. I think this covers the streamlining of the bureaucracy that is being initiated by the budget department,” said Amatong. Another $200 million loan, also from the Bank, is currently in the works, which will support the program of strengthen public finance. Amatong said the first tranche of the loan, about $100 million, can be immediately disbursed shortly after the loan agreement has been signed within the new two months. According to Amatong, another $150 million program loan for non-bank financial sector reforms is being worked out with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Under the streamlining program, Budget and Management Secretary Emilia Boncodin has announced that about 10,000 to 20,000 government workers to be declared redundant or their positions deemed outdated or irrelevant could be entitled to additional retirement benefits if Congress would pass the law. Government workers affected by the rationalization of the bureaucracy will be entitled to an additional half-a-month salary for every year of service on top of the monthly pension they would get from the Government Service Insurance System. Thus, the need to seek financial assistance offshore. Already, DBM has allocated some P15 billion in this year’s budget to cover the retirement benefits of workers that would be hit by the reorganization, which will affect some 1.5 million public workers. Program loans are normally described as balance of payments support since it becomes part of the general budget. home | latest news |
 |
Circular Letters/Memoranda |
|
Speeches/ Presentations |
|
Photo Gallery |
|
The 2008 RBAP Charter Symposium |
|
2008 CFI Awards |
|
Rural Banking Week Celebration Golf Tournament |
|
Client Satisfaction Survey for Licensing Management System of the Supervision and Examination Sector |
|
Financial Reporting Package 2008 |
|
BSP releases regulations on liquidity, market risk weighting |
