State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Local Government of Manila have signed a new P10-billion 15-year term loan agreement to fund various public infrastructure projects in the area under the city’s ambitious Development Plan, a top official said.
DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said the bank’s assistance to the city government would be used to bankroll the construction of school buildings in three districts and the establishment of a landmark housing project benefitting informal settlers and urban poor communities in Manila.
“DBP is honored to be a part of the ardent efforts of the City Government of Manila to scale up and ramp up social services to its residents,” Herbosa said during the loan signing ceremony on May 21 in Tondo, the birthplace and place of residence of incumbent Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” M. Domagoso. “May this partnership be a paragon for more productive endeavors to benefit our local communities.”
DBP is the sixth largest bank in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy – infrastructure and logistics; micro, small and medium enterprises; the environment; and social services and community development.
Aside from being the country’s capital, Manila is also considered as a center of trade and finance as most of the country’s national imports and exports pass through the city’s ports. It ranks third in the list of richest cities in the country with total assets of P64.8-billion per latest Commission on Audit report.
Under the agreement, the loan proceeds would be utilized for the construction of three 10-storey “high-impact” buildings for Rosauro Almario Elementary School in District 1, Dr. Albert Elementary School in District 4, and Manila Science High School in District 5. It would also bankroll three in-city vertical housing buildings to be located along San Sebastian, San Lazaro, and Pedro Gil Streets.
Herbosa said DBP’s latest credit assistance comes on the heels of the P5-billion loan granted to the city government to finance several social development projects such as the 10-storey Bagong Ospital ng Maynila, in-city vertical housing projects in Tondo and Binondo, and the re-development of Manila Zoo.
He said DBP is ramping up support for local governments under its flagship Assistance for Economic and Social Development program which supports the local government units’ initiatives on market infrastructure development and improvement, social welfare, health care, and other public infrastructure projects that spur local economic activity.
“DBP recognizes that the LGU sector plays a crucial role in spreading the gains and multiplying the benefits of development,” Herbosa said. “As a development catalyst, DBP will always support the growth of smart and sustainable communities nationwide.”