Recto Inks 5 Financing Pacts For PHP539.4 Million Climate Projects

Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary and concurrent People’s Survival Fund (PSF) Board Chair Ralph Recto has signed five financing agreements for local climate adaptation projects worth PHP539.4 million.

The Eastern Samar local government unit received PHP118 million for the reinforcement of its Lo-om River flood protection system in Borongan City, as well as livelihoods and redevelopment for resilient communities. I Photo: DPWH

The Eastern Samar local government unit received PHP118 million for the reinforcement of its Lo-om River flood protection system in Borongan City, as well as livelihoods and redevelopment for resilient communities.

Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte LGU was provided PHP8.5 million for its river ecosystems sustainable management initiative.

The Mountain Province was granted PHP271.1 million for its climate field school for farmers.

Maramag, Bukidnon was awarded PHP126.4 million to establish a disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) approach in its river ecosystem and to enhance the climate adaptive capacity of its communities.

The Municipality of Catanauan in Quezon received PHP2.6 million for its Mangrove Rehabilitation Project.

Meanwhile, the PSF Board approved two new projects which will be processed for financing.

These are the Municipality of Cortes, Surigao del Sur’s Building Resilience with Ridge to Reef Adaptation to Climate Change project worth PHP126.7 million, and Ilocos Norte’s PHP305.3 million Climate-Resilient Intervention towards Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management project.

The PSF has since approved 13 projects and 6 Project Development Grants (PDGs) for which it has fully committed its appropriation of PHP1 billion.

Sec. Recto said, “I congratulate the PSF Board and the LGUs for working hard to conceptualize and study the feasibility of these projects, thus turning them into a reality. Rest assured, the national government will be with you every step of the way—from streamlining the project proposal process to expediting fund utilization—so that we can fast-track our efforts towards achieving a climate-resilient Philippines.”

For his part, Secretary Robert Borje, Vice Chair and Executive Director of the Climate Change Commission (CCC), remarked, “The CCC congratulates Secretary Ralph Recto and the DOF as Chair, and the members of the PSF Board on this historic milestone—a demonstrated commitment to realize President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision of a climate-smart, climate-resilient nation.”

Borje emphasized that the PSF was established under Republic Act No. 10174 to finance adaptation programs and projects of LGUs and accredited local and community organizations.

The PSF Board has submitted its request to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to replenish the PSF, this time in the amount of PHP2 billion, to fund more project proposals aimed at addressing climate change.