World Bank, ADB to help set up ‘Yolanda’ trust fund

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank will help the Philippine set up a trust fund to efficiently gather and mobilize donations from all over the world for the country’s post-calamity recovery initiatives.

The multilateral agencies are expected to serve as administrators of the fund, to be called the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF).

In a statement, the Department of Finance said the MDTF would be tapped mainly to finance recovery measures for areas devastated by Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” which hit the country in November.

Such measures, which are outlined in the government’s Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) framework, include rebuilding of public infrastructure and government facilities, as well as livelihood programs for the affected families.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said in the statement that the MDTF and the assistance of the multilateral agencies were intended to help ensure transparency in the utilization of foreign donations.

“The MDTF will facilitate transparent and efficient utilization of resources as well as harmonization of various approaches being adopted by ensuring that all standards are complied with,” De Leon said.

The finance department said reconstruction activities in Yolanda-affected areas were intended to comply with the principle of “Build Back Better,” under which infrastructure to be reconstructed would have designs resilient to natural calamities.

Government efforts to set up the fund together with the World Bank and the ADB came amid reports that most foreign donations to calamity-stricken areas were not being coursed through the government but were either channeled through nongovernment organizations or directly spent on the concerned communities.