MANILA, April 22 -- The Philippines recently signed the Rapid Response Option (RRO) agreement with the World Bank Group (WBG), allowing the country to deploy resources from its existing bank portfolio more effectively to deliver a swift response when crises occur.

The Philippines is the first country to sign the RRO agreement with the World Bank, which is part of the WBG's Expanded Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit.

In a statement on Monday, the Department of Finance said the agreement was signed by Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and WBG Managing Director Anna Bjerde on April 20 on the sidelines of the WBG and the International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.

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