The World Bank has approved a $250 million loan to support recovery and reconstruction efforts in the Philippines following back-to-back killer typhoons last year. World Bank country director Bert Hofman said the loan was part of a financing package agreed last December for social measures targeting poor households. “The loan will support the government's reconstruction plan and will help overall growth and poverty alleviation,” said Hofman. Damage and losses from major typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” in 2009 were estimated at about $4.38 billion, with losses in production and other flows of economy placed at nearly $2.93 billion. Total requirements of about $2.4 billion for recovery and reconstruction efforts must be undertaken by government until 2012. Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the newly approved loan from World Bank would give the country some “fiscal space” to accelerate reconstruction efforts. “It will provide us quick disbursing budget support to bridge the financing gap following disasters that hit late 2009,” he noted. Meanwhile, the World Bank also approved a $8.64 million grant for the government's Integrated Organic Pollutants Management Project aimed at reducing human and environmental exposure to harmful persistent organic pollutants such as furans and dioxins that are known to cause cancer. – abs
