WB program loans for RP underutilized

Of the estimated $364 million proposed funding for the Philippine government for fiscal year 2002 by the World Bank, only $30 million received the nod from the global financial institution.

The bank’s fiscal year for 2002 covers the period July 1,2001 to June 30, 2002.

The only World Bank-approved project is the Second Local Government Unit Urban Water Supply (LGUUWS II). The implementing agencies are the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG).

It is part of the multi-year adaptable program loan (APL) for the local government unit urban water supply project. The project has three elements, namely: a) assist water utilities to improve their operational efficiency and accountability to consumers; b) reorganize the regulatory framework for water utilities; and, c) attract adequate financial flows into the water and sanitation sector.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has a somewhat similar water-related project worth $800,000 (approximately P40.8 million) grant for the identification and development of additional potable water sources for Metro Manila alone. The implementing agency is the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

According to the World Bank, the rest of the project loans are still in various stages of preparation.

Still under the proposal stage are: the $100-million Second Social Expenditure Management Project (SEMP II); the $10-million judicial reform project; the $5-million Laguna Lake Environment Management; and a number of unspecified project loans under the Department of Finance (DOF) worth between $100 to $200 million.

"The ball is in the court of the Philippine authorities," an unnamed World Bank official said. "They still have to make a specific and complete presentation."

The initial proposals had already been presented to the board of the Bank, which had been approved in principal with the estimated loan coat. However, it has remained in various incomplete stages.

Meanwhile, the $30-million LGUWWS II project covers the three main islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. In Luzon, the seven towns in the province of Nueva Vizcaya are covered. In the Visayas, it covers one town in Bohol, and five towns in Misamis Occidental in Mindanao.

The Philippines is notorious for under-utilizing or not utilizing project loans funded by global financial institutions. In other cases, the Philippines failed to place its counterpart fund in approved projects. – TPT