THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a total of $1.44 billion worth of loans for several projects of the Philippine government.

ADB deputy director general for Southeast Asia and former ADB-Philippines country representative Thomas Crouch told reporters the bank has approved $750 million worth of loans for this year and $690 million worth of loans for 2009.

The bank also said it will extend $9.01 million for 2008 and 2009. Crouch said the bank will extend $7.11 million in 2008 and $1.9 million on top of the loans approved for 2008 and 2009.

Crouch told reporters the projects to be funded under the loans for 2008 include the $300-million Justice Reform Sector program, which is a program loan; the $250-million Development Policy Support Program, which is also a program loan; and the $80-million Agrarian Reform Communities II Project, which is a project loan.

For 2009, the projects include the $250-million project loan for the bank’s support of the privatization of the National Transmission Corp.; the $200-million project loan for the Financial Market Regulation; and the $200-million program loan for the Development Policy Support program.

Crouch noted that these amounts are higher than the total amount of loans approved for 2007, 2006 and 2005, which were pegged at $583 million, $650 million and $175 million, respectively.

The ADB official also confirmed that the bank intends to increase its project-based lending, particularly for the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2009 to 2013, which is now being drafted by the ADB and the national government.

In the previous CPS, Crouch said the strategy was to provide loans as policy-based support, but with the new CPS, the bank hopes to change this into a project-based strategy.

However, Crouch said that no exact amount for the new CSP is available as of press time, since negotiations have just started.

The CSP for 2005 to 2007 has been extended to cover 2008. The ADB has also put in place the Country Operations Business Plan for 2007 and 2008 to cover the transition to a five-year plan.

The loans offered under the business plan averages $679 million a year and technical assistance grants worth $4 million a year.

Nonsovereign support of up to $250 million is identified for the power sector and other opportunities are being considered in water, transport, renewable energy and finance.

The ADB and the government have also disclosed that the business plan is expected to be finalized in the latter part of 2008.

THE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor, has petitioned for a provisional authority from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to adjust its rates by P0.1938 per kilowatt hour (kWh) covering the second regulatory period from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. denounced a World Bank guideline discouraging the grant of state subsidies to rice farmers while urging the government to reduce the tariff on imported rice.

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a total of $1.44 billion worth of loans for several projects of the Philippine government.

DAVAO CITY—Thirteen of the Davao region’s major crops and fruits turned bigger yields last year, helping it keep its reputation as a leading fruit country in the South, and boosting the dollar earnings of the region.

DAVAO CITY—The world’s largest data-collection company put up its second multimillion-peso offshoring and outsourcing (O&O) operation here in the Philippines, six years after it opened its Cebu call center.

LEGAZPI CITY—Philippine entries to the global search for the “New Seven Wonders of Nature” that include the Mayon Volcano here continued to improve their chances to get into the finals, which would be known early next year.

BAQUIO CITY—The Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) is now ready to enter trading in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) after the expiration of its 25-year contract with the National Power Corp. (Napocor) on March 25.

Current estimates place the number of mobile-phone subscribers in the Philippines at about 40 million with text traffic hitting the 100 million mark daily.