PH, Japan Exchange Notes on Loan for COVID, Disaster Management

(Photo by Nilo Palaya)

PASAY CITY, 15 September 2020 - Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. and Japanese Ambassador Haneda Koji exchanged diplomatic notes today in simple rites at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Japan’s extension of a loan to support early recovery after natural and health-related disasters.

The JPY 50-billion Post Disaster Standby Loan (PDSL) Phase II is seen to help the Philippines to better manage its vulnerability to natural disasters, to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and to mitigate the adverse effects of these risks on the country’s economy.

The PDSL Phase II will also support technical cooperation projects that will strengthen the Philippines’ policy and institutional framework for disaster risk reduction and management, financial resilience to natural disasters and climate change, and public health emergency preparedness.

The loan is the latest support package extended by Japan to assist the Philippines and the larger ASEAN region in recovering from the impacts of COVID-19, and building public health and economic resilience. Previously, in July, the Philippines and Japan also exchanged notes on the COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan (CCRESL), also in support of the Philippine efforts to combat and recover from COVID-19. END