WB releases $496.2-M loan for Ompong rehab

The World Bank (WB) has released a loan amounting to $496.25 million to support government rehabilitation efforts in areas hit by Typhoon Ompong.

The credit line is called Second Disaster Risk Management Development Policy Loan with a catastrophe-deferred drawdown option, which can be used to rehabilitate vital infrastructure such as roads, bridges, schools and hospitals as well as to restore basic social services.

The loan comes with technical assistance to support the government’s disaster risk reduction and management efforts by strengthening investment planning and regulations to reduce disaster risks and manage the financial impact of natural disasters.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said close to three million people or 700,000 families were affected by the typhoon, which left 68 people dead and 138 others injured. Damage to infrastructure and agriculture reached P33.6 billion.

Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and the Cordilleras, which were placed under a state of calamity due to the typhoon, are among the country’s top producers of rice, corn, vegetables, livestock and poultry.

“We express our sympathies to all the Filipino people affected,” Mara Warwick, WB country director, said.

“Natural disasters can exacerbate poverty through loss of lives, livelihood, property and infrastructure and can roll back years of development gains. They disproportionately disrupt the lives of poor and vulnerable people, particularly women, the elderly and children. We want them to know the bank supports the country’s efforts to address their needs,” Warwick said.