Philippines
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CHAPTER
10
Introduction
1. The Philippines is probably the most extreme
case of prolonged use of IMF resources, with 23 pro-
grams between 1962 and 2000. Over the 30-year pe-
riod 1971–2000, the Philippines had programs for
almost 25 years (Table 10.1) with credit outstanding
from the IMF continuously since 1967.1 The Philip-
pines’ status as a “prolonged user” was recognized
by the Executive Board as early as 1984.2
2. This study presents an assessment of the nature
of the IMF’s prolonged involvement with the Philip-
pines and attempts to draw lessons for the future. The
evaluation is based on an extensive review of pub-
lished and unpublished IMF documents and inter-
views with (i) current and former Philippine officials
and a range of other stakeholders, including acade-
mics, NGOs, and representatives of the private sector,
undertaken during an IEO mission to Manila in
March 2002; (ii) current and former IMF staff; and
(iii) staff of the Asian Development Bank, the World
Bank, and some bilateral donors. The study is orga-
nized as follows: the second section presents a brief
overview of the experience over three decades; the
third section examines the factors that led to pro-
longed use; the fourth section focuses on implica-
tions for program design and implementation; the
fifth section considers the implications of prolonged
use for IMF surveillance; and the final section pre-
sents conclusions and recommendations.
Overview of the Philippines’
Experience with IMF-Supported
Programs
3. The extent of continuous involvement by the
IMF in supporting programs in the Philippines is re-
flected in Table 10.1, which lists the various stand-
by arrangements (SBAs) and Extended Fund Facility
(EFF) programs since 1967.3 Rather than provide a
detailed evaluation of each program, we attempt a
summary assessment of the experience in four dis-
tinct periods.
The Marcos period prior to the 1982–83 debt
crisis: almost continuous programs that
achieved no lasting adjustment
4. In this period there were a tot