DoF mobilizing funds for water, green projects

THE Department of Finance (DoF) is working to get capital or funds for the government’s various green and water security programs.

During the “Sustainable Path to Water Security for the Philippines” forum on Tuesday, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno highlighted that the Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan (PSWSSMP) is the government’s blue print to achieve water security. The Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines, Water.org and Accralaw were behind the event.

“As the PSWSSMP will serve as the blueprint to achieve universal access to safe, affordable, and sustainable water supply and sanitation for the country, the total investment for this plan is over a P1 trillion to achieve universal access to water by 2030,” he added.

The PSWSSMP was formally launched in September last year by the National Economic and Development Authority.

Diokno also said that through green finance DoF is pursuing, the water supply and sanitation masterplan can materialize.

The Finance department is also releasing proceeds of the first sustainability global bonds worth $1 billion and sustainability Samurai bonds worth $100 million, which will help green efforts in the country.

“Both of these transactions were met with strong demand despite the volatility in the global market. Moreover, our first-ever environmental and social governance bond issuance marks the first-ever sound-off of our efforts to develop the sustainable, market financing in the Philippines,” Diokno emphasized.

“Allow me to assure you as chair[man] of the administration’s economic team, the DoF stands ready to support all efforts toward our shared goal of achieving universal clean access to water and fighting climate change for sustainability,” he added.

Furthermore, the DoF has managed to put together a policy package that supports the agenda of green finance called the Sustainable Finance Roadmap, which incorporates the “whole nation” approach in mobilizing finance to support the transition to a clean, sustainable and climate-resilient economy.

For its part, the Securities and Exchange Commission also formally launched the sustainability reform guidelines for publicly listed companies.