The Philippines’ active official development assistance (ODA) portfolio reached USD30.7 billion last year, a 46.6 percent increase from the previous USD20.9 billion in 2019, the National Economic and Development Authority reported Monday.
Based on NEDA’s recently released ODA Portfolio Review Report for CY 2020, the active ODA portfolio consisted of 30 program loans, 76 project loans, and 251 grants.
Among these, 59 loans and grants were signed in 2020, consisting of 20 program loans (USD8.2 billion), 14 project loans (USD2.9 billion), and 25 grants (USD140 million).
The governance and institutions development sector recorded the highest share in last year’s ODA portfolio, amounting to USD5 billion (45 percent). This was followed by the social reform and community development sector (31 percent). Meanwhile, the infrastructure development sector, which historically accounted for the largest share, only came third (16 percent).
The report said ODA was secured to augment the government’s COVID-19 response, such as the procurement and delivery of vaccines, support for the emergency cash assistance program, provision of medical supplies and equipment, construction of isolation and quarantine facilities, and strengthening the capacity of existing health facilities.
“Because of our strong fiscal position, we were able to procure a total of 195 million vaccine doses from both the government and private sector, provide emergency cash transfers for those affected by the quarantines, and strengthen our overall response to address the pandemic,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.
As of 2020, Japan remained as the country’s overall top provider of ODA with USD11.2 billion (36.4 percent) worth of loans and grants, followed by the Asian Development Bank with USD8.8 billion (28.5 percent), and the World Bank with USD6.4 billion (21 percent).
NEDA conducts the ODA portfolio review annually, pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 8182 or the ODA Act of 1996, as amended by RA 8555.*PNA
