The Philippines has signed a P24 billion loan from Japan to help curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the country and shore up the government’s emergency response and economic stimulus

The Philippine government is the very first recipient of this highly concessional loan, specifically designed by the Japanese government to address the global health crisis. 

Japan is the first bilateral donor to be able to offer a loan to the Philippines for its COVID-19 response program.

Under highly concessional terms, the loan’s repayment period is set to 11 years after a grace period of 4 years, with a fixed interest rate of 0.01 percent per annum. 

The loan will be co-financed with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through its COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Program.