September 27, 2021

The Philippines’ active official development assistance (ODA) portfolio reached USD 30.7 billion in 2020, a 46.6 percent increase from the previous USD 20.9 billion in 2019, said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Based on NEDA’s recently released ODA Portfolio Review Report for CY 2020, the active ODA portfolio consisted of 30 program loans, 76 project loans, and 251 grants.

Among these, 59 loans and grants were signed in 2020, consisting of 20 program loans (USD 8.2 billion), 14 project loans (USD 2.9 billion), and 25 grants (USD 140 million).

The governance and institutions development sector recorded the highest share in last year’s ODA portfolio, amounting to USD 5.0 billion (45%). This was followed by the social reform and community development sector (31%). Meanwhile, the infrastructure development sector, which historically accounted for the largest share, only came third (16%).

The report stated that ODA was secured to augment the government’s COVID-19 response, such as the procurement and delivery of vaccines, support for the emergency cash assistance program, provision of medical supplies and equipment, construction of isolation and quarantine facilities, and strengthening the capacity of existing health facilities.

“Because of our strong fiscal position, we were able to procure a total of 195 million vaccine doses from both the government and private sector, provide emergency cash transfers for those affected by the quarantines, and strengthen our overall response to address the pandemic,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua.

As of 2020, Japan remained as the country’s overall top provider of ODA with USD 11.2 billion (36.4%) worth of loans and grants, followed by the Asian Development Bank with USD 8.8 billion (28.5%), and the World Bank with USD 6.4 billion (21.0%).

NEDA conducts the ODA portfolio review annually, pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 8182 or the ODA Act of 1996, as amended by RA 8555.

The report can be viewed on the NEDA website.

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