Recto calls on dev’t banks to keep poor countries from lagging further

DEVELOPMENT BANKS and institutions must ramp up their assistance to poor countries, calling current programs “no longer sufficient,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said.

“We have now reached a critical threshold. Without decisive and major corrective action to protect our hard-won gains, the developing world is at the risk of falling even further behind,” Mr. Recto was quoted saying in a speech during the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four (G-24) Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday.

“This particular moment calls for more responsive and strong-willed international financial institutions,” he added.

Mr. Recto called on the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other institutions to “redouble their efforts in helping developing countries mitigate and reverse these factors that threaten our growth prospects.”

“Traditional interventions are no longer sufficient. We need bold and innovative solutions to help developing economies sustain productivity, boost long-term growth prospects, and increase resilience to economic shocks,” he added.

Mr. Recto also said that the government is open to forging “stronger collaboration” with lenders and member countries to “build up their respective capacities to weather global challenges.”

“We must develop strategies to efficiently mobilize fiscal resources and prevent leakages as much as we can, not only to manage debt but to provide protection to our people in these difficult times,” he added.

In 2022, the Philippines’ active portfolio of official development assistance loans and grants stood at $32.4 billion, composed of 106 loans and 320 grants provided by 20 development partners. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson