By Roy Mabasa The Chinese government has commended the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for extending a US$750 million loan to the Philippines to combat the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. The signboard of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is seen at its headquarter building in Beijing.
(REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon / MANILA BULLETIN) “China highly commends the contribution made by AIIB to helping the Philippines build economic resilience and ensure quick recovery from this pandemic,” the Chinese Embassy said in a statement on Wednesday. The loan agreement was signed on June 5, 2020 by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and AIIB acting director-general Rajat Misra. “China firmly supports and upholds the multilateral efforts of international organizations to help the Philippines and other economies in need to tackle the challenges posed by COVID-19,” the Chinese Embassy said. In an earlier statement, Secretary Dominguez said the $750-million loan “cements AIIB’s commitment to co-finance with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) the Philippines’ COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) program, a quick-disbursing budget support facility designed to fund the government’s efforts to combat COVID-19 and mitigate the adverse impact of the contagion on the economy.” “The loan package from the AIIB will help augment our funding requirements necessary to mitigate the severe negative impact of COVID-19 on our people and our economy. On behalf of the Philippine government, we thank the AIIB and President Jin Liqun for committing with the ADB to support the CARES program, which will go a long way in helping our people get back on their feet, and our economy recovers and emerge stronger after the crisis,” Dominguez added.