Gov’t awaits right timing for sale of Marawi bonds

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the government is waiting for the “exact timing” before issuing the so-called “Marawi bonds” following the overwhelming pledges they raised from the international community last week.

According to the Dominguez, the peso-denominated bonds, which aims to partially fund the rebuilding plan for wartorn Marawi City, will be issued in tranches and would depend on the Bureau of the Treasury’s judgment on when to best place them on the market.

“We still have the budget in place and actually, we have until 2022 to complete the funding. So we will review the pledges that we got and see the exact timing of them so that we can time the Marawi bonds as well,” Dominguez said.

He said the government might receive the initial commitments from the pledging session for the damaged city of Marawi either before the end of 2018 or early next year.

The recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts for Marawi will be implemented over a period of several years, thus, Dominguez said the government does not need (the funds raised via the Marawi bond float) “all at once.”

During the pledging session last week to drum up funding support for the Bangon Marawi Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Program (BMCRRP), the government received a total of 135.1 billion in pledges from the international community.

Of the 135. 1 billion in pledges, 132.7 billion will be in the form of concessional financing, while 12.4 billion will be in grants.

On behalf of the Philippine government and the Filipino people, Dominguez thanked the international development partners and countries that have pledged to support the BMCRRP.

The government’s planned issuance of Marawi bonds amounting to 113.5 billion, budgetary support, and the 135.1 billion in pledges from the international community will more than cover the 147.2-billion financing requirement for the BMCRRP, Dominguez said.

He said the government has determined that the overall financing requirement for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi would amount to 172.58 billion over a five-year period up to 2022.

Of this amount, 147.20 billion is needed for the BMCRRP; 117.20 billion that will be 100 percent sourced from local funding will be spent to rehabilitate the Most Affected Areas; and 11.25 billion will be spent for livelihood assistance, which would also be fully sourced from local funds.