Philippines to Repay $320 Million in Excess Loans to World Bank for COVID-19 Response

Manila – DOF (Department of Finance) Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Sunday that the Philippines will repay about $320 million in excess loans to the World Bank for the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. – klajoo.com – The previous Duterte administration launched an aggressive borrowing effort to boost the national treasury for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As borrowing increased, the country’s debt-to-gross domestic debt ratio – the amount of national debt relative to the size of the economy – rose to 63.5 percent, the highest in 17 years and well above the internationally recommended threshold of 60 percent.

Diokno told reporters during his weekly chat with Finance Press Corps that the “excess” loans should be used for vaccine procurement.

The finance minister said his department had already written to the World Bank saying the government intended to repay the excess loans.

“We have already written. Soon, within a month,” Diokno said. – KR