Filipinos will be paying off another major loan until 2053 after the government signed a fresh $800-million deal with the World Bank aimed at supporting the country’s clean energy shift and climate resilience initiatives, Manila Bulletin Business reported.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto signed the agreement on April 30, enabling the Philippines to access the funds within the next three months. The World Bank’s country director for the Philippines, Zafer Mustafaoğlu, had signed the same agreement on behalf of the bank’s development arm earlier in April.
The loan is part of the Philippines’ first Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Development Policy Loan (DPL), which is intended to finance the country’s efforts to expand clean energy use, enhance electricity market efficiency, and improve water resource management.
Loan repayments will begin in 2036 and are scheduled twice a year until 2053. The agreement remains in effect until June 2026.
The World Bank approved the DPL on March 31, marking it the fourth Philippine loan approved by the institution in that month alone. Other recently approved loans include nearly $455 million for a Mindanao transport project, $495.6 million for health system resilience, and $67.3 million for civil service modernization—bringing the country’s total loan approvals from the World Bank in March to around $1.82 billion.
