THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects to extend around $15 billion in assistance to the Philippines over the next three years.

“Our annual assistance including cofinancing is expected to exceed $5 billion in 2025, and to reach $15 billion over 2026–2028. This reflects both the ambition of the government’s development agenda and the strength of our collaboration,” ADB President Masato Kanda said in a statement.

“The Philippines is home to ADB’s headquarters and one of our most important and long-standing partners.”

This comes as Mr. Kanda on Nov. 25 met with newly appointed Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go to reaffirm the multilateral lender’s partnership with the Philippine government. The ADB chief said they are committed to supporting the administration’s governance and anticorruption agenda as transparency and public trust are key to spurring development.

The ADB is also preparing comprehensive technical and financing support for the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2026, it said.

The bank was the second-biggest development partner of the Philippines in 2024 with $11.05 billion worth of loans and grants, behind the Japanese government’s $13.32 billion.

Mr. Kanda said the ADB is also scaling up its support for the private sector, including an upcoming $400-million program “to promote a modern, technology-enabled business environment.”

The ADB also provided $100 million as lead investor in the initial public offering of the Maynilad Water Services Inc. to help modernize water systems and deepen the Philippines’ equity capital markets.

The Philippines is also benefiting from ADB’s transaction advisory services for public–private partnerships, it added. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante