State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is set to implement an interest rate subsidy program covering loans for local government units (LGUs) that would be used for projects aimed at mitigating the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

In a statement on Thursday, DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Herbosa said his bank and the Land Bank of the Philippines had been allotted P1 billion each under Republic Act 11494, or the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act” (Bayanihan 2) to provide subsidies on loan interest payments on new and existing loans of LGUs as they implement their respective pandemic response and recovery initiatives.