Australia has launched a five-year, ₱2-billion program to support economic reforms in the Philippines, but the two governments have yet to decide which projects will receive funding.
The program, called Promoting Growth, Resilience, Economic Stability and Sustainability in the Philippines, or PROGRESS, was formally launched in Manila on September 22. Australia has committed AUD 45 million to it.
Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Matt Thistlethwaite said the funding could support work on renewable energy, the resources sector, digital businesses and infrastructure. The governments are also looking at ways to reduce delays in approving projects and expand economic opportunities for women, people with disabilities and other groups.
“We haven’t allocated funding to specific projects yet. We’re very much in the scoping phase,” Thistlethwaite said at a press conference. He said the governments would identify proposals and assess whether they made economic sense.
The Philippine Department of Finance said the program could help lower the cost of doing business and improve the rules that investors face. It also identified clean energy, critical minerals and preparations for projects under the Luzon Economic Corridor as areas for support.
Asked how many jobs the program could create, Thistlethwaite said he could not yet give a target. He said the Australian government had allocated the money, while individual projects would be announced as they are approved with the Philippine government.
The launch follows the signing of the PROGRESS arrangement in March. Finance Secretary Frederick Go said the department would work with Australia and other agencies to put the program into effect.
