MANILA - The Philippines has agreed to shell out $1 billion worth of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in line with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) moves to raise $250 billion in standby credit for emerging countries badly hit by US-led financial crunch.

"We are entitled to contribute about $1 billion, and that is proportional to our [current] share in the IMF," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo told reporters late last week.

Each member’s contributions will be equivalent to roughly 74% of their respective stake in the Washington-based multilateral lender.

"We have only indicated our consent [for the contribution]," Mr. Guinigundo said.

The IMF Board of Governors has approved the general allocation of $250 billion worth of SDRs aimed at boosting liquidity in the global economy, which officials said would be a "key part of the Fund’s response to the global crisis" which has led to recessions worldwide.

The SDR is a basket of currencies used by the IMF in its transactions. Mainly made up of the US dollar, it also includes the Japanese yen and the British pound.

The quota of shares largely determines a member’s voting power in IMF decisions. Each IMF member has 250 basic votes plus one additional vote for each SDR 100,000 of quota. The size of a country’s quota reflects the size of its economy.

Currently, the US holds the largest quota with its 37.1 billion in SDRs representing almost 17% of total voting rights. The Philippines, with its 879 million SDRs, has a voting right worth 0.41% of the total.

This compares to the shares held by neighbors like Indonesia (2.079 billion SDRs equivalent to 0.95% of total votes) and Malaysia (1.486 billion SDRs, 0.68%).

The quota also determines the amount of money a country can borrow from the IMF. Currently, countries may borrow 100% of its quota every year, and 300% cumulatively.

Mr. Guinigundo said the Philippines was unlikely to do so.

"We don’t need to borrow from the IMF. We have a higher BoP (balance of payments) surplus, and our reserves are accumulating," he said.

Ever since prepaying the last of its obligations ahead of schedule in 2006, freeing it from IMF debt for the first time in 40 years, the Philippines has not seriously considered borrowing from the lender again, mainly due to the strict conditions that come with such loans.

Mr. Guinigundo also supported calls for reform in the Washington-based lender’s governance structure, to give a louder voice for countries like the Philippines.

This is in line with calls by the so-called BRIC economies — Brazil, Russia, India and China — urging the Fund to recognize the growing role of emerging countries.

The BSP official noted that many emerging countries have grown more "economically important" and consequently deserve bigger quotas in the IMF.

"We (the Philippines) have gained some importance as well," he said.