Philippines contributes $3 million to ADF

TBILISI – The Philippines is providing $3 million (P171 million) to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) fund meant to help poor and vulnerable economies in Asia-Pacific.

In a briefing here on the sidelines of the 57th ADB Annual Meeting, ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa said the bank and several donor countries have agreed to replenish $5 billion for ADB’s Development Fund (ADF).

As such, the Philippines has donated for the second time roughly $3 million to the ADF, which is being replenished every four years.

The Philippines joins Canada, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Korea and the UK, among others, in this year’s ADF donors.

Finance Undersecretary Joven Balbosa said the Philippines maintained the contribution it released during the pandemic.

Balbosa is representing Finance Secretary Ralph Recto in this year’s ADB Annual Meeting.

“It’s a decent amount because we are also mindful of our fiscal consolidation program and the needs of our country,” Balbosa told reporters.

“But we are an ADB member country, we are a family of nations. It’s just fair that we provide a small share, it’s a balancing act,” he said.

The Philippines used to be a beneficiary of the ADF until it graduated from the status and eventually became eligible for loans.

ADF is dedicated to eradicating poverty and enhancing the quality of life in Asia and the Pacific’s poorest and most vulnerable countries.

More than $2.5 billion, or 51 percent, of the replenishment will be funded by contributions from donors including two new countries: Armenia and Georgia.

Roughly 45 percent of the donor contribution came from the top three sources namely Japan, Australia and the United States.

About $1.6 billion will come from ADB’s net income transfers to ADF and the remaining $900 million will comprise transfers from earlier ADF cycles and income from liquidity investments.

“ADF funding remains as crucial and important more than ever as our poorest and most vulnerable members seek to reverse recent development setbacks and to spur urgent action to combat the climate crisis,” Asakawa said.

This year’s replenishment will provide continued support to vulnerable economies and focus on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, promoting gender equality and driving forward regional cooperation and integration.

It will also serve as a responsive assistance to disasters and health emergencies, as well as crisis support.