Philippines central bank to continue support for economy "as long as needed"

MANILA, Dec 13 (Reuters): The Philippine central bank will continue to support the economy for as long as necessary, its governor said on Monday, ahead of a policy meeting later this week.

That support will be "as long as needed to ensure the country's economic recovery" Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a speech, adding the monetary authority would remain vigilant against risks to inflation.

Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$250 million loan for the Philippines to purchase Covid-19 vaccines, it said in a statement on Monday.

The ADB said the loan would allow the government to purchase 40 million additional Covid-19 vaccine doses for eligible children and booster shots for adults.

The Philippines is aiming to fully vaccinate at least 54 million people, or nearly half of its 110 million population, before the year ends.

To reach that target, it plans to hold a second three-day mass vaccination campaign from Dec 15.

It has so far fully immunised 39.2 million as of Dec 7.

New daily cases in the Philippines have stayed below 1,000 since Nov 24, a sharp decline from the more than 20,000 peak in late September that strained the fragile health system in the South-East Asian archipelago.

The Philippines' improving Covid-19 situation has allowed it to gradually reopen the economy and tentatively resume in-person classes. - Reuters