MANILA - The country's public-private sector reconstruction commission expressed confidence that the Philippines can recover the estimated $4.4 billion in damages caused by recent typhoons.

The body, which is represented by the government through the Special National Public Reconstruction Commission (SNPRC) and the private sector through the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF), said that it has gathered about $5 billion in pledges from multilateral organizations and government funds alone.

"This does not include the possible contributions of the private sector," SNPRC Chairman and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said.

Of the amount, Teves said $3 billion came from support from development partners such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the United Nations.

The remaining $2 billion, meanwhile, was said to have been pledged by government-owned and -controlled corporations, government financial institutions, and social security funds.

"We were pleasantly surprised by the response. We hope to translate these into final contributions, maybe in the form of loan agreements, concessional loans, or grants at best," Teves said.

For his part, PDRF Chairman and businessman Manuel Pangilinan said the private sector is still assessing its contributions, adding that all amounts would be properly audited.

"The amounts will be separate. The government's will be the government's, and the private sector will work with its own funds as well," he said, adding that projects for reconstruction would hopefully commence by January next year.

Earlier, the World Bank reported that damages and losses to crops, property, and infrastructure from typhoons "Ondoy" and "Pepeng" (international code names Ketsana and Parma, respectively) reached $4.4 billion or about 2.7% of the country's gross domestic product.