Gov’t eyes World Bank loan for Typhoon Ompong damage

MANILA, Philippines — The government may tap the World Bank to help the country recover from the damage brought about by Typhoon Ompong, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.

During a press briefing, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the DOF has recommended to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) the possibility of tapping the World Bank for a $500 million loan should a state of calamity be declared following Ompong’s onslaught.

“Should the President declare a state of calamity, we will be able to access a $500-million loan from the World Bank at very favorable terms and interest rates,” Dominguez said.

“We have recommended that proposal to the NDRRMC,” he said.

The finance chief said the NDRRMC has started to evaluate the DOF recommendation Monday night.

Some local government units have already declared state of calamity due to the damages brought by Ompong in their areas.

Damage to the agriculture sector, alone, reached P14.27 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Disaster and Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Operation Center.

However, Dominguez said the government has yet to determine the total destruction cost by Typhoon Ompong. He said aside from crops, some infrastructure may have also been affected by the strong winds and heavy rains brought about by the typhoon.

“We are waiting for the final assessment of the crop damage. So we don’t know exactly at this point in time how much of the crops have been damaged,” Dominguez said.

“Certain amount of infrastructure has been damages and very tragically, some lives have been lost. We don’t have the total picture at the moment,” he added.