On April 25 at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) headquarters in Tokyo, JICA President Tanaka Akihiko signed a loan agreement with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines’ Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to formalize the provision of the COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan Phase-2 (CCRESL Phase-2).

This up to 30 billion yen loan (approximately P14 billion) seeks to support the Philippine government’s efforts in promoting COVID-19 vaccination and ensuring the steadfast economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era by providing budgetary support.

Under highly concessional terms, the loan’s repayment period is set to 11 years after a grace period of four years, with a fixed interest rate of 0.01 percent per annum.

Specifically designed by the Japanese government to address the global health crisis, the Philippine government was the very first recipient of this highly concessional loan with CCRESL Phase – 1 provided in July 2020. CCRESL Phase-2 is the second loan provided as ongoing support to the Philippines’ COVID-19 recovery efforts.

Japan has continuously provided comprehensive support to the Philippines since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This support includes over 3 million vaccine donations, grant aid for the procurement of medical equipment and establishment of laboratory surveillance sites, technical assistance for cold chain development, provision of Avigan tablets for COVID-19 treatment, as well as the big-ticket yen loan assistance through the COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan (CCRESL) and the Post-Disaster Standby Loan (PDSL). Japan Information and Culture Center