The World Bank said on Friday that it may provide US$700 million to US$1 billion to the Philippines over the next three years to finance programs on poverty alleviation and good governance.

The World Bank, under its new Country Assistance Strategy, will finance both existing and new projects related to transport, rural power, agriculture and agribusiness development, urban renewal, disaster-risk management, improvement of public health and education systems and public private-public partnerships in water projects, the lender said in a press statement.

The bank will also promote good governance in the Philippines by funding anti-corruption projects, including procurement and public financial management reforms and better local governance through more effective decentralization.

World Bank Country Director Bert Hofman said that the Strategy will help the Philippine government "make growth work for the poor."

"In times of uncertainties like the current global financial crisis, inclusive growth calls for greater social protection for the poorest of the poor to help them cope with economic shocks as well as the impacts of disasters and calamities induced by climate change," he said.

The proposed Country Assistance Strategy, for July 2009 to June 2012, will be discussed for approval by the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors next month.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2009)