The Asian Development Bank (ADB) may extend part of a $1.75-billion facility to help cover budget gaps tied to the Philippine government’s Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) program, according to the bank’s country director for the Philippines.
“It’s a totally new facility specifically to address the budget gaps that have resulted from the Middle East crisis and the UPLIFT program of the government,” said Andrew Jeffries, ADB Country Director for the Philippines, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Luzon Economic Corridor Investment Forum on Thursday. “It’s subject to approval from our Board of Directors,” he added.
UPLIFT has already directed funding to farmers and fisherfolk affected by surging fuel prices, Jeffries said. The program also provides temporary monthly cash assistance to families coping with the rising cost of living brought on by the conflict in the Middle East.
For qualified low-income members of the Social Security System, that assistance has a specific figure attached to it. Roughly 1.5 million low-income SSS members with a monthly salary credit of ₱20,000 or below are receiving ₱2,000 a month under UPLIFT from July through December 2026, for a total of ₱12,000 per qualified household, according to SSS Pagadian Branch Head Edwin A. Remoto. Only one member per household may claim the benefit, and only active SSS members are covered.
The potential new ADB facility builds on financing the bank announced in May: $1.75 billion in additional support meant to help the Philippines manage the economic fallout of the Middle East conflict. That support was set to come through policy-based lending, countercyclical lending, and trade finance if needed. It sits on top of roughly $2 billion in policy-based loans ADB is preparing for the Philippines this year.
No terms or amounts for the new facility have been finalized. The proposal still requires approval from the ADB Board of Directors before it can move forward.
